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.
Learning Resources — Publications
Fact Sheet: Transgender Health and Medical-Legal Partnerships
This fact sheet describes common social and legal needs that affect the health of transgender individuals, and ways integrated legal services can help meet those needs. It examines medical-legal partnership programs at three health care organizations and how they operate, and it shares stories of people benefiting from medical-legal partnership services.
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
- Transgender Health
Addressing Opioid Use Disorder among LGBTQ Populations
This brief discusses the impact that opioid use disorder has on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. It will highlight best practices, trauma-informed care and behavioral health integration into primary care.
- Filed under
- Behavioral Health
Caring for Transgender People with Severe Mental Illness
Transgender people, like the general population, can suffer from a variety of common and rare severe mental health illnesses (SMI). This brief will cover recommendations on caring for this high-risk population.
- Filed under
- Behavioral Health
- Transgender Health
Addressing Eating Disorders, Body Dissatisfaction, and Obesity Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people experience higher rates of eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, and obesity compared to the general population. In this clinical brief, primary care and behavioral health providers will discover how these issues manifest in different subgroups of SGM adolescents and young adults, and will learn ways to address these conditions using affirming and effective treatments.
Providing Trauma-Informed Care at Health Centers for HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men
This brief offers health centers an introduction to providing trauma-informed care for HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). The overall aims are to help health center staff understand the disproportionate prevalence of trauma and stress-related disorders among HIV-positive MSM, recognize the relationship of trauma to overall health and decreased engagement in primary care among HIV-positive MSM. This brief will also outline the promising practices in trauma-informed care to improve engagement of HIV-positive MSM in behavioral health and primary care.
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.
- Filed under
- Introduction to LGBTQIA+ Health
LGBT Health Readiness Assessments in Health Centers: Key Findings
The National LGBT Health Education Center started conducting direct training and technical assistance with Federally Qualified Health Centers in 2014. This service was made possible by the expansion of our National Cooperative Agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration to include technical assistance work. Since 2014, seventeen health centers in six states (Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and Texas) have participated in the assessment process.
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
Focus on Forms and Policy: Creating an Inclusive Environment for LGBT Patients
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people come from all walks of life and experience many of the same health problems as non-LGBT people. This means that every organizational policy and procedure may impact the experience of LGBT people. To create an LGBT-affirming and inclusive environment, it is important to examine policies and procedures. This publication reviews some common updates to organizational forms and polices to create an affirming and inclusive environment for LGBT patients, and reviews strategies to modify procedures, behavior, and language to be inclusive of all patients.
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
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.
