Updated June 21, 2021
In our Referrals Trainings, we’ve heard from many of you that you’d like more information on how to best support your LGBTQ+ patients and clients. In 2020, we conducted an anonymous survey of health and social service providers, and 47% of them indicated that they would feel “very” or “somewhat” uncomfortable working with clients who identify as transgender. In a list that included living with a severe mental health diagnosis, substance use disorder, or HIV/AIDS, and experiencing intimate partner abuse or domestic violence, trans people were the most heavily stigmatized when it came to seeking abortion care. That’s why we’re developing new programming that is meant to address this stigma and ensure that LGBTQ+ clients receive medically accurate health services that include abortion referrals. We’ve also updated our list of information and resources below that will assist you in providing high quality, compassionate care for LGBTQ+ people in your communities.
Trans Health Resources
- Trans Health Advocacy Program (The Kentucky Health Justice Network)
- Allentown Women’s Center — an abortion provider in Pennsylvania that also offers Trans health services
- Maine Family Planning — an abortion provider in Maine that also offers Trans health services
- Choices — an abortion provider in Tennessee that also offers Trans health services
- Feminist Women’s Health Center — an abortion provider in Georgia that also offers Trans health services
A Survey of Southern LGBTQ+ Health
In 2020, the Community Health Programs Director for the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) held a Q&A with Provide staff about the specifics of the Report of the 2019 Southern LGBTQ Health Survey. CSE is a natural partner in conversation and experimentation with Provide due to our mutual work addressing stigma at the intersection of reproductive/sexual/gender and health.
The survey report covers new data about LGBTQ+ Southerners’ physical and mental health; overall quality of care; experiences with depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harming behaviors; and experiences with HIV. This survey is one of the largest samples ever of LGBTQ+ Southerners talking specifically about their health, their bodies, and their lives. It tells the story of 5,617 people’s individual experiences with health and health care. And taken together, the data tell a powerful shared story. Read the full report.
Additional Resources
- Queering Reproductive Health: A Toolkit (National LGBTQ Task Force)
- LGBTQIA Resource Center
- The National LGBT Health Education Center
- LGBT Health Toolkit (American Academy of Family Physicians)
- LGBTQ Resource List (GLAAD)
- LGBTQ+ Youth Resources: Bridging the Digital Divide
- LGBT Health (CDC)
- Press & Publications (The Fenway Institute)
- The Grapevine: A Southern Trans Report (Transgender Law Center)
- How to Use Inclusive Language in Healthcare (Nursing License Map)
