Workshops

The Institutional Piece: LGBT Health Advocacy in Hospitals & Health Schools

Shane Snowdon, University of California San Francisco

While grassroots LGBT health initiatives proliferate, what's being done to advocate for LGBT health needs in mainstream, institutional settings, where GBQ men's needs, when considered at all, are often identified solely with HIV/AIDS? In this engaging talk, Shane Snowdon, Founding Director of the first LGBT office in health care or health education (the Center for LGBT Health & Equity at the University of California San Francisco), describes current institution-focused advocacy for LGBT health needs around the country. For example, she’ll discuss efforts to educate hospitals in connection with the groundbreaking LGBT Field Guide from The Joint Commission, the accrediting body for U.S. hospitals, and the National LGBT Healthcare Index (HEI), the annual hospital survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign. She’ll also discuss initiatives in medical education, including advocacy within medical schools and national efforts like UCSF’s National Summit on LGBT Concerns in Medical Education. What strategies seem most effective in reaching these key audiences? How can individual LGBT health advocates and community-based LGBT health groups get involved with this kind of education and advocacy? As LGBT health finally receives serious attention in mainstream, institutional settings, it’s critical that work with them be informed by individual and community perspectives, and this session will leave ample time to discuss them.