LGBT Cultural Competence
Cultural competence, at the provider level and at the institutional level, is a key goal of education on LGBT health issues. A provider’s lack of cultural competence has been shown to negatively affect not only provider-patient interaction and care-giving, but also the patient’s care seeking behavior.
Everyone who works in healthcare facilities should receive training on LGBT cultural competence because an individual’s experience while accessing healthcare is influenced by everyone they interact with in the process. Creating a nonjudgmental and secure environment through training on LGBT-specific, basic skills and competencies will ensure patients feel welcome and relieve anxiety or confusion among employees.
Resources:
Guidelines and Recommendations for Care
- The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health, The Fenway Institute 2007
- Guidelines for Care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Patients, GLMA 2006 [PDF] [www.glma.org]
- Community Standards of Practice for Provision of Quality Health Care Services for GLBT Clients, GLBT Health Access Project 1999 [PDF] [glbthealth.org]
- Culturally Competent Care for GLBT People: Recommendations for health care providers, Seattle & King County Public Health [www.kingcounty.gov]
- Management of Transgender Veteran Patients [PDF][www.tavausa.org]
Healthcare Organization Statements on LGBT Healthcare
- Patient Non-Discrimination: LGBT-Inclusive Policy Statements from Healthcare Organizations
- AMA Statement on Cultural Competence and LGBT Patient Care [www.ama-assn.org]
Intake Forms
Multimedia
- Learning Modules on LGBT Health [The Fenway Institute]
Research
- LGBT Health Resources and Research [www.lgbthealth.net]
- LGBT Health Studies [www.kingcounty.gov]
- The Fenway Institute Research [www.fenwayhealth.org]
