This webinar will discuss performing cervical and breast cancer screening exams in a way that is affirming for LGBTQIA+ patients. We will review patient communication, preparation and completion of the exams, and gender affirming clinical documentation. This session will support health centers in population needs assessment and management, community needs and resource mapping, and clinical effectiveness of care within the population health and social determinants of health domain.
Learning Resources
Why Weight? Diabetes Prevention and Care Learning Collaborative
The Education Center’s Why Weight? Diabetes Prevention and Care Learning Collaborative focused on engaging teams from health centers across the US to undertake practice transformation conducive to diabetes care in LGBTQIA+ communities.
Throughout this publication, we briefly describe the structure and objectives of the learning collaborative and highlight promising practices for diabetes prevention with LGBTQIA+ patients. This publication provides a pathway forward for health centers to better serve LGBTQIA+ patients and to lay a solid foundation for diabetes prevention and care that is culturally inclusive and affirming.
- Filed under
- Diabetes and Heart Health
Integrated Behavioral Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People: An Affirming, Harm Reduction, and Trauma Responsive Approach
Integrated behavioral health care cannot eliminate all barriers and health inequities experienced by transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people. It can, however, serve as a bridge to overall wellness, and can fulfill functions associated with primary care, and in doing so, can represent a low-barrier, harm reduction method of meeting patients’ needs. It can provide a setting to address mental health concerns that may arise from the process of negotiating one’s identity as a TGD person, being denied certain forms of health care, or navigating spaces where one’s value is diminished. Integrated behavioral health care can also help to facilitate the initiation and management of gender-affirming hormone therapy, thereby reducing the need for referrals to specialty providers, eliminating wait times, and enhancing patient and provider satisfaction.
- Filed under
- Behavioral Health
- Transgender Health
Lessons Learned in Health Outbreaks Impacting Gay, Bisexual and MSM
2022 saw two major health outbreaks, mpox and meningococcal disease, that disproportionately affected gay, bisexual and MSM. This webinar, presented by Dr. Kevin Ard, discusses the impact of these outbreaks on the community, the mitigation interventions utilized, and lessons learned for future outbreaks. This webinar provides insight on safe preparation for future emergencies and resource allocation for population health needs regarding quality, patient care, and safety.
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- Emergency Preparedness & Response
Body Image, Eating Disorders, and LGBTQIA+ Identities: Supporting Youth, Older Adults, and Non-binary People
Eating disorders have steadily increased in the U.S. population, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although once considered a problem for white wealthy girls and women, eating disorders and related body-image disturbances are now known to reach across all races/ethnicities, socio-economic levels, and gender identities. Research suggests that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have a high prevalence of eating disorders and negative body image that may require culturally responsive approaches to screening and counseling. This clinical publication provides information and strategies for improving the capacity of health centers to screen, assess, and address issues related to eating disorders and body image among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and all sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQIA+) people, with special considerations for LGBTQIA+ youth, older adults, and non-binary people.
- Filed under
- Behavioral Health
Innovative Methods for Delivering Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Care
Presented by Dr. Kevin Ard, participants will learn about innovative approaches to HIV prevention using a status-neutral framework with information on telehealth for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), PrEP On Demand, and more. The webinar also provides the most recent information about how to implement long-acting injectable PrEP at health centers.
HIV Prevention Learning Collaborative Summary
From December 2020 through April 2023, the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center developed and facilitated three HIV prevention learning collaborative cohorts involving 29 organizations and 79 participants. Participants represented a range of role groups within health centers and worked in diverse locations around the country. Overall, participants described a significant amount of knowledge gained from the sessions and satisfaction with the training. Two of the cohorts overlapped with the Covid-19 pandemic; the learning collaborative’s virtual format was conducive to pandemic limitations on in-person gatherings, and the program provided a strategy to continue building capacity for PrEP during and despite the pandemic. Key lessons from the learning collaborative program include the importance of training about logistical and programmatic aspects of PrEP, the feasibility and desirability of engaging multidisciplinary teams in PrEP training, balancing education about scientific advancements in PrEP with content on implementation and addressing HIV risk perception and adherence. Going forward, we aim to create new content on risk perception and adherence and institute systematic evaluations of the learning collaborative cohorts to facilitate ongoing innovation and improvement.
LGBTQIA+ Care Organizational Change Videos
Our new 3-5 minute video series discusses best practices for organizational change at health centers to provide LGBTQIA+ affirming care. Topics include Health Needs Assessment, Engagement and Collaboration with Community Partners, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data Collection, Information Technology Considerations, Investment and Engagement from Key Stakeholders, and Recruitment and Retention of LGBTQIA+ workers.
Cultural Adaptation of Measures and Tools for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Data Collection
This webinar will highlight opportunities to adapt SOGI data collection measures and tools through culturally and linguistically affirming approaches, to better serve multilingual, multiethnic, and racially diverse communities. Participants will hear from bilingual-bicultural researcher Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, PhD, MPHE, MCHES who will share his experiences developing culturally relevant strategies with Spanish-speaking communities, and Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, MD, MPH, who will highlight SOGI resources from the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center.
Engaging Health Centers in the Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index to Advance LGBTQIA+ Equity
Health centers strive to create an environment where all patients, visitors, and employees feel safe, affirmed, and respected. How do you know if your health center is truly meeting those needs? One way is to participate in the upcoming Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) survey from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). This biennial survey evaluates and scores healthcare facilities on detailed criteria under four central pillars:
- Filed under
- Organizational Change
