People who identify as members of sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups experience disproportionate rates of suicide, homelessness, substance use, mental health disorders, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and victimization. While the medical needs of this population are considerable, SGM patients face many barriers to accessing effective health care. One of the factors contributing to these health disparities is the fact that most physicians lack sufficient training to provide competent, affirming care to this population.
With the goal of addressing these educational gaps, Alex Keuroghlian, MD MPH, Director of the MGH Gender Identity Program, and colleagues fro Harvard Medical School (HMS) launched in 2018 the Sexual and Gender Minorities Health Equity Initiative at Harvard Medical School. The primary aims of the initiative are to integrate content specific to the care of SGM patients into the preclinical years and clerkships and to offer opportunities for advanced study so that all HMS students and faculty clinicians are well-equipped to provide high-quality, evidence-based health care to sexual and gender minority patients of all ages.
“There are a few challenges that health care professionals have in discussing sexual health with transgender and gender diverse people that includes a lack of basic training for clinicians in foundational concepts and terminology, lack of understanding of stigma and how this is related to health inequities including in the sexual health realm, and how to engage in sensitive and effective communication,” Alex Keuroghlian, MD, MPH points out.
In this video, Dr. Keuroghlian discusses some of the challenges clinicians face in caring for sexual and gender minority (SGM) patients.
Dr. Keuroglian is the course director of a new 3-day training webinar, “Advancing Excellence in Sexual and Gender Minority Health Education: A Train-the-Trainer Course for All Healthcare Professionals,” which will be held on March 25 – March 27, 2022. This is a collaboration between Boston-based Fenway Health, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The goal of the conference is to train healthcare professionals from across the country so that they can return to their home institutions to be leaders and champions for LGBTQIA+ health and train their own colleagues to provide culturally responsive and affirming care.
For those interested in learning more about or registering for the online event, you can get the details here. For those who are not able to attend, Dr. Keuroglian highlights the large number of educational resources available for free online at the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center.
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Alex Keuroghlian, MD, MPH
Director, MGH Gender Identity Program
Associate Chief, Public and Community Psychiatry , MGH
Michele and Howard J Kessler Chair and Director, MGH Division of Public and Community Psychiatry
Director, Education and Training Programs at the Fenway Institute
Director, National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
