Sociopolitical Threats Heighten Minority Stress for Current Sexual and Gender Minority Public Health Trainees in the United States

The current U.S. sociopolitical climate-marked by recent targeted anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) legislation and executive orders (i.e., sociopolitical stressors)-including those focused on antidiversity, equity, and inclusion-leads to heightened minority stress among current LGBTQ+ public health trainees, threatening their well-being and career trajectories. Macro-level (distal) stressors, such as discriminatory funding cuts, institutional censorship, and sociopolitical hostility interact with proximal stressors (i.e., expectations of rejection, concealment, internalized stigma, and moral injury) to undermine trainee retention. Without mitigation strategies-such as enhanced structural support-these compounded stressors could cause a significant loss to the public health infrastructure and workforce.