This pamphlet on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions can be handed out to patients in waiting rooms or exam rooms. The pamphlet explains: why your organization is asking about SOGI, what each SOGI term means, and how the information will be kept confidential. The pamphlet comes in several languages.
Learning Resources — Publications
Building Patient-Centered Medical Homes for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patients and Families
While expanding access to health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act has been vital to millions of previously uninsured Americans, moving U.S. health care away from fee-for-service, volume-driven payments to payments based on value and outcomes will be a much more challenging transformation. For health centers and other health care providers, one commonly used model for practice transformation is the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). The PCMH model transforms how primary care is coordinated and delivered by emphasizing comprehensive, team-based care that places the patient at the center. When implemented successfully, the PCMH model leads to higher quality care at a lower cost, improving both the patients’ and providers’ experience of care.
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
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.
- Filed under
- Introduction to LGBTQIA+ Health
Pathways to Parenthood for LGBT People
A growing number of LGBT people are starting families. The 2010 US Census reported that approximately 19% of same-sex couples are currently raising children, and a 2013 Pew Research national survey found that 51% of LGBT adults of any age have children or would like to have children in the future. As an increasing number LGBT individuals and couples seek to have children, many will turn to their health care providers for resources and guidance. This brief walks through the various pathways to parenthood for LGBT people, as well as unique issues these couples and individuals may face as they consider their options. The pathways explored in the brief include adoption and foster parenting, donor insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF), and surrogacy. Also discussed are ways in which health care organizations can support LGBT parents. The brief can be used as a guide to tailor conversations about parenting desires with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients.
- Filed under
- Reproductive Health
HIV Prevention in the South: Reducing Stigma, Increasing Access
The HIV epidemic disproportionately affects the Southern U.S., where 51% of new HIV diagnoses occurred in 2013. Despite substantial progress along the continuum of care, HIV remains a major health concern in the South, particularly for young, Black gay and bisexual men, other men who have sex men (MSM), and transgender women. Our new publication “HIV Prevention in the South: Reducing Stigma, Increasing Access” presents four strategic elements for preventing the further spread of HIV among vulnerable populations in the South, and suggests a more hopeful future for reducing the HIV epidemic.
Providing Inclusive Services and Care for LGBT People: A Guide for Health Care Staff
Providing Inclusive Services and Care for LGBT People has been developed to help all members of the health care team provide an inclusive and affirmative environment for all clients, with a focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
Creating an inclusive environment in which health care conversations are more comfortable for the patient is an important goal for all health care staff. All patients deserve access to high quality health care; in health care organizations, both front-line staff and clinicians must be prepared to serve people of all races, ethnicities, religions, ages, and backgrounds.
Here’s What You’ll Find Inside:
- Part 1 provides background information on LGBT people and their health needs.
- Part 2 provides tips and strategies to improve communication and create a more welcoming environment.
- Part 3 includes helpful resources, a glossary of terms, and additional information about how to care for LGBT people.
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
Promoting Health Care Access to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Farmworkers
Farmworker Justice and the National LGBT Health Education Center
There is a common misconception that few or no LGBT people exist within the farmworker community. As a result, the health care needs of LGBT farmworkers are often overlooked. There is no data regarding the number of LGBT individuals within the farmworker community. However, those who provide health care and public health interventions to farmworkers know from experience that LGBT people do exist in this community.
These individuals face enormous challenges in accessing care, finding support, and feeling safe. This brief aids health care centers in recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by LGBT farmworkers in order to provide quality care to this highly vulnerable population. The brief outlines the greatest health care challenges facing LGBT farmworkers, discusses best practices for building trust with this community, and provides available support systems and resources.
- Filed under
- LGBTQIA+ People of Color
Transgender Women and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know
The National Center for Innovation in HIV Care
Transgender women are at elevated risk of becoming infected with HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention (PrEP) is effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM), heterosexual men and women, and people who inject drugs (PWID). While transgender women have been included in some clinical trials of PrEP, no study has shown PrEP to be effective in reducing transgender women’s HIV risk.
Protecting Yourself from HIV through Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): What You Need to Know
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the use of an HIV treatment medication for HIV-negative people at high risk of getting HIV through sexual exposure. Known as “pre-exposure prophylaxis”—or PrEP—this medication is a once-a-day pill to be used in combination with condoms and other safer sex behavioral strategies to reduce risk. Protecting Yourself from HIV through PrEP informs consumers about PrEP and how it works, as well as other ways they can work with their health care providers to protect themselves against HIV.
Taking Routine Histories of Sexual Health: A System-Wide Approach for Health Centers
The National Association of Community Health Centers and the National LGBT Health Education Center
To support health centers as they endeavor to better integrate sexual health into patient-centered care, we collaborated with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) to create Taking Routine Histories of Sexual Health: A System-Wide Approach for Health Centers (Toolkit).
For patients and the health centers that serve them, sexual health care and prevention interventions mean routine screening of physical, behavioral, and social health factors and subsequent care management and coordination with public health through strong partnerships. Skilled at patient engagement and proactive planned care, health centers can integrate a routine sexual health history as part of the overall health assessment, as well as routine screenings for HIV and hepatitis C based on the most current CDC recommendations.
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
