Learning Resources — Introduction to LGBTQIA+ Health

Affirmative Services for Transgender and Gender Diverse People – Best Practices for Frontline Health Care Staff

This publication provides best practices and guidance for frontline healthcare staff on how to best serve transgender and gender diverse patients. Topics covered include gender affirming language, asking about sexual orientation and gender identity data, asking for name and pronouns used, and more. The publication features a quick-reference sheet that can be removed and posted in a workspace.

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Health Disparities for Gender-diverse Individuals

Julie Thompson, PA-C discusses health disparities faced by gender-diverse people, and how clinicians can address these disparities productively in clinic. Thompson focuses on gender affirmation, both medical and social, as the bedrock of supporting gender-diverse people.

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Learning to Address Implicit Bias Towards LGBTQ Patients: Case Scenarios

A primary objective for health care professionals is to establish solid, trusting relationships with patients in order to promote healthier behaviors. As with other minority groups, when working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) patients, it is especially important to build rapport as a way to counteract the exclusion, discrimination, and stigma that many have experienced previously in health care. Despite our best intentions, however, internal --or implicit--biases may affect the way we talk to and behave with patients. For health care professionals, biases can lead to inequitable care, either through biased clinical decisions, or through communicating bias in conversation with patients.

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Glosario de términos LGBT para equipos de atención a la salud

Language is powerful and influences many of our interactions. As a health care provider, becoming familiar with terms used by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) communities can help you provide these patients with the highest quality care. In this glossary, you will find some of the terms most relevant to the health care of LGBT people translated into Spanish. This glossary does not have every term used by the community, but you will find terms most commonly used when patients are accessing health care. It is important to keep in mind that language can change over time, and so this glossary will be update periodically to reflect those changes.

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Providing Affirmative Care for Patients with Non-binary Gender Identities

All members of a health care organization—front-line staff members, clinicians, and administrators—play a crucial role in offering an inclusive, affirming experience for all people, including those with non-binary gender identities. Everyone, no matter their gender identity or expression, appreciates friendly, courteous, and effective care. In addition, non-binary people, who have gender identities other than male or female, have unique needs when interacting with the health care system. Non-binary people face numerous health disparities as well as stigma, discrimination, and a lack of access to quality care. However, you do not need to specialize in non-binary health care to give your non-binary patients an affirming experience.

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Understanding the Health Needs of LGBT People

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals continue to face stigma and discrimination even though social acceptance is improving. This stigma and discrimination can result in negative experiences that combine with lack of access to culturally-affirming and informed health professionals to result in multiple health disparities for LGBT populations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide inclusive, high-quality health services to LGBT people so they can achieve the highest possible level of health. This document reviews LGBT concepts and demographics, discusses health disparities affecting LGBT groups, and outlines steps that clinicians, health centers, and other health care organizations can take to provide patient-centered care for LGBT people.

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Improving the Health Care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) People: Understanding and Eliminating Health Disparities

This document offers a brief but comprehensive overview of the major issues relevant to the health and health care of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The authors discuss LGBT demographics, terminology, and concepts; they also review LGBT health disparities across the life span. Clinicians and health care organizations will learn steps they can take to improve access to patient-centered care for their LGBT patients, including collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity, creating a welcoming environment and providing interventions that respond to LGBT disparities.

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The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health, 2nd Edition

American College of Physicians (ACP), 2015. Editors: Harvey Makadon, MD, Jennifer Potter, MD, Kenneth Mayer, MD and Hilary Goldhammer, MS of the Fenway Institute, Fenway Health

This new 2nd edition of The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health reflects clinical and social changes since the publication of the first edition.

Written by leading experts in the field of LGBT health in conjunction with The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, this edition continues to present the important issues facing patients and practitioners, including:

  • Principles for taking an LGBT-inclusive health history
  • Caring for LGBTQ youth, families, and older adults
  • Behavioral Health Care: coming out, intimate partner violence, drug, alcohol, and tobacco use
  • Understanding health care needs of transgender people
  • Development of gender identity in children and adolescents
  • Sexual health and HIV prevention
  • Policy and legal issues

For more information and to order copies: ACP Online

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