Culturally incompetent care is not just bad practice. It goes against the medical provider’s creed to do no harm.
Our workshops, trainings, and consulting services will help you improve patient outcomes.
Our healthcare training and consulting services aim to:
• Establish structurally competent healthcare provision environments: including policies & procedures, patient forms, medical health records, physical space, protocol for staff training
• Increase provider and health professional knowledge of LGBTQ+ communities
• Increase provider and health professional awareness of specific health needs within LGBTQ+ communities
We tailor all curriculum, assessments, and consulting to the needs of your practice and to audiences, including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, lay practitioners, clinicians, administrators, and medical receptionists. We offer continuing education credits for a wide range of disciplines. Please contact us for more information.
Research shows that due to previous negative experiences with healthcare providers, LGBTQ+ people delay routine health screenings and as a result, suffer from poorer health outcomes.
• Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual adults are two times more likely than the general population to delay or not seek medical care.
• 33% of transgender people who accessed medical care in the last year reported at least one negative experience.
Among Our Popular Trainings
Providing Culturally Humble and Competent Care to the LGBTQ+ Community
The LGBTQ+ community is growing both in size and visibility. This introductory training will provide you with the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to best serve this community. Differences between sexual orientation, sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and gender expression will be discussed. Health disparities experienced by the LGBTQ+ community will be highlighted. Lastly, we will share tips on how best to provide culturally humble and culturally competent care to this community.
Contemporary Prevention Tools to Halt New HIV Infections and End the Epidemic
With treatment that renders HIV undetectable and untransmittable, and PrEP, a once-daily pill up to 99% effective at preventing HIV transmission, we now have all the tools we need to stop HIV in its tracks. Unfortunately, many healthcare and social service providers are reluctant to endorse the research that confirms Undetectable equals Untransmittable (U=U) and PrEP. Even more concerning, populations most at risk of contracting HIV are those most often denied the information and treatment they need to live safe and satisfying lives. This training will prepare your medical or social service team to fully endorse PrEP, nPEP, and U=U interventions and identify social and structural barriers currently keeping information about these interventions from patients and clients. We offer this training free of charge to Ohio organizations as a service to the community.
When Behavior and Identity Diverge: Sexual Health Considerations for LGBTQ+ Youth
Behavior and identity do not always align, especially through the exploratory period of adolescence. LGBTQ+ youth face higher rates of unintended pregnancy, bear disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted infections, and are less likely to receive inclusive sexual health education. This session will explore common misconceptions about LGBTQ+ youth and provide tips for delivering inclusive sex education for this population.
LGBTQ+ Health Disparities: An Introduction
LGBTQ+ persons face health disparities that are connected to stigma, discrimination, and denial of civil and human rights. This training will explore the mental and physical effects of these phenomenon on the LGBTQ+ community, such as higher rates of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, suicide, cancer, homelessness, and violence and will provide tools to help you address these issues.
What’s in the Plus: Beyond the Basics of the LGBTQ+ Community
This training is intended as an introduction to sexual and gender minorities that are typically grouped together in the “plus” of LGBTQ+, including but not limited to intersex folks, asexual and aromantic individuals, and pansexual people.
What is Health Equity?
Everyone deserves a chance to live a happy and healthy life, regardless of who they are, where they come from, and their socio-economic status. This training explores barriers to achieving health equity, including health inequities, health disparities, and the social determinants of health. This training concludes with information on how to use cultural competency, cultural humility, and structural competency as tools to help communities attain positive health outcomes.
Structural Competence in a Clinic Setting: Forms, Electronic Health Records, Creating an Inclusive Atmosphere
Social and physical environments can negatively impact one’s engagement in care. This training delves into the definition and practical application of structural competency in an organizational setting. Further, it discusses how individuals and organizations can create inclusive and welcoming environments for LGTBQ+ clients by altering the physical space and organizational policies and procedures. This includes visual cues, updating forms, and adjusting Electronic Health Records.
Health Concerns in LGBTQ+ Youth
Expressing and exploring sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender roles is a typical part of adolescent development. Youth who identify as, or are perceived to be, LGBTQ+, may face additional challenges due to how others respond to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This training explores health disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ youth and their effect on school attendance, school performance, and social isolation.
Intersectionality and LGBTQ+ Health
The concept of intersectionality relates to the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and transphobia) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups (Merriam-Webster). This training provides a basic introduction to intersectionality, and how membership in overlapping and multiple groups that suffer from stigma and discrimination can create daunting challenges for members of the LGBTQ+ community. This training explains how living at the intersection of more than one identity can lead to negative health outcomes and suggests strategies for alleviating the effects of intersectional oppression.
Providing Health and Social Services to the Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Community (Basics and Advanced)
This training builds expertise on how to deliver health and social services to the trans community in an affirming and inclusive manner. Basic definitions of gender identity, gender expression, and the range of trans identities (including non-binary identities) are explained in this training. Best practices concerning pronoun usage, the creation of inclusive forms, and establishment of safe and inclusive spaces is also discussed. This training can be tailored to the audience’s current learning state.
The Importance of Language: Serving the LGBTQ+ Community with Cultural Competence
Words are powerful. This training explains the myriad ways language can either fray or strengthen engagement in care for the LGBTQ+ community. Guidance is given on outdated language to avoid and affirming and inclusive language to use instead. Best practices in asking questions, including one’s pronouns, is also addressed.
LGBTQ+ Sexual Health Education
LGBTQ+ inclusive sexual health education is sorely lacking in the United States in terms of LGBTQ+ representation and relevant information. This training will examine the current state of LGBTQ+ sexual health education and sexual health disparities experienced by the LGBTQ+ community. Further, it will provide suggestions on creating an inclusive, holistic, curriculum that fosters a sense of belonging. *Note* we are also available to provide LGBTQ+ focused sexual health education.
HIV (Basics and Advanced)
The HIV epidemic has changed drastically over the past several decades. This training will describe basic virology and epidemiology, highlighting the epidemic’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community. The role of the social determinants of health and intersecting identities will also be discussed. Current preventative research and practices will also be featured.
Mental Health Concerns in the LGBTQ+ Community
The LGBTQ+ community experiences much higher rates of mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. This training will describe these mental health disparities and demonstrate a direct link between these health issues and societal norms. It will conclude with suggestions on screenings that medical and social service providers should consider with treating LGBTQ+ patients and provide tips and tools on creating a safe and inclusive space and the positive benefits of identifying as an ally.
Health Insurance and the LGBTQ+ Community
2014 was a complete game changer for the LGBTQ+ community as it was the first year of the ACA rollout and Medicaid expansion. Historically, the LGBTQ+ community has been uninsured and underinsured at higher rates than the heterosexual and cisgender community. For the first time in possibly decades these folks experienced having comprehensive health insurance. This training will examine insurance basics and describe the vast impact that health care reform has had on reducing health disparities and access to care issues in the LGBTQ+ community.
Implicit and Explicit Bias in the Health and Social Service Environment
Everyone has bias. Even providers who are consciously committed to equality and to providing the best care to all clients can fall victim to deeply seated implicit biases, impacting quality of care. This training gives you the tools to recognize and combat explicit and implicit bias against LGBTQ+ clients and their various intersecting identities.
Substance Use and Misuse: Considerations for an LGBTQ+ Population
Stress, stigma, and discrimination are major factors that drive the disproportionately higher rates of substance abuse and addiction experienced by the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, many professionals do not know how to provide culturally humble care to LGBTQ+ patients and clients, discouraging them from engaging in care. This training will discuss how providers can effectively intervene and work to reduce this health disparity.
PrEP and PEP: the Basics
PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post exposure prophylaxis) are two key biomedical HIV prevention interventions, used for people who are HIV-negative. Although both methods are highly effective, many providers feel uncomfortable with prescribing them due to lack of knowledge. This training will discuss how PrEP and PEP work, prescribing, and testing information. It also includes important information on the new Ohio PAPI program, which is designed to be a payment assistance program for people wishing to access PrEP.
Aging in the LGBTQ+ Community
As they age, LGBTQ elders face many unique barriers to healthy living that their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts do not. This training will detail these challenges, including access to basic health care, lack of caregivers, financial insecurity, social isolation, and access to aging services. Further, it will provide the tools for providers to enable patients and clients to age with dignity, support, and respect.
Serving the Medically Underserved
Medically underserved communities disproportionally experience higher rates of poverty, healthcare disparities, and healthcare inequities. This training will discuss the skills needed to provide care to these populations, including recognizing unexpressed needs, understanding of local data and statistics, knowledge of community resources, and a willingness to be an advocate. The concepts of cultural competency, cultural humility, structural competency, and unconditional positive regard will also be highlighted.
Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Health Care Experiences for Rural LGBTQ+ Populations
There are 3 million LGBTQ+ folks living in rural areas in the United States. This population is often dismissed and overlooked, but it has an acute need for welcoming and inclusive health and wellness interventions. This training will review introductory knowledge about core LGBTQ+ terminology and concepts, identify unique challenges facing rural LGBTQ+ populations, and discuss best practices to improve patient experiences for rural LGBTQ+ patients.
Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Elders
LGBTQ+ elders often face the challenges of aging with insufficient support, and in environments where it’s unsafe for them to be fully “out.” This training will explain evidence-based best practices for creating welcoming and inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ elders. The unique challenges facing LGBTQ+ elders when accessing health care and other services will be discussed, and participants will be given the tools to make sure that LGBTQ+ elder can get linked, and stay linked, to crucial services.
We offer services in a variety of formats and can help you chose what’s best for your service or business.
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- Guest Speakers
- Short speech tailored to your meeting or function
- Personal experience
- 30 minutes
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- Presentations
- Brief introduction to subject matter
- Serves a broad audience
- 60, 90, or 120 minutes
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- Workshops
- In-depth, discussion based
- Maximizes audience participation
- Half day or full day formats
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- Consulting Services
- Address workplace dynamics
- Assess structural competency
- Develop agency-specific repeatable training
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- Live Webinars & Online Content
- Live or recorded
- Offers flexibility
- 30 or 60 minutes