Who should attend: All health professionals (Physicians, Dentists, Nurses, EMT/Paramedics, Mental Health Professionals, Allied Health Professionals) and support staff (Practice Managers, Medical Assistants, Receptionists, Staff Educators) – anyone who has direct contact with patients, clinical and non-clinical.
The objective of this program is to educate all healthcare providers in all healthcare professions of health risks, threats and barriers relating to the LGBT community and to adopt LGBT culture-friendly practices.
LGBT people experience health issues and barriers related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression. Many avoid or delay care or receive inappropriate or inferior care because of negative personal experience, the assumption or expectation of negative experience based on the history of experiences by other LGBT people, or both. Since LGBT people are members of every community and include people of all races, ethnicities, ages, socioeconomic statuses, their perspectives and needs should routinely be considered in public health efforts to improve the overall health of every person and eliminate health disparities. It's important that they be treated by healthcare providers who appropriately inquire about their sexual behavior, are knowledgeable about their health risks, and have an understanding of their familial structure, to name a few.
This program is appropriate for ALL Health professions and will focus on:
- Enhancing self-awareness of healthcare practice attitudes toward the LGBT community.
- Cultivating an understanding of how the LGBT community views, seeks out, and utilizes healthcare.
- Improving healthcare for this population by increasing knowledge about the LGBT culture, family ties, and the burden of various diseases affecting this community.
- Improving skills for improved communication between patient and healthcare provider (staff members included).
- Discussion of social and legal barriers to health care access for LGBT people.
- Providing a legal Q&A to alleviate any barriers of additional concerns.