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.
Learning Resources — Introduction to LGBTQIA+ Health
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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- Introduction to LGBTQIA+ Health
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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- Introduction to LGBTQIA+ Health
