Advocating for Inclusion

You may not realize this, but many LGBTQ people feel marginalized and excluded from traditional healthcare. Consider new patient paperwork that has checkboxes for “male” or “female.” Which box does a patient check if they do not identify as either? Or if their gender doesn’t match what’s on their insurance card? How do they prefer to be addressed? … The LGBTQ community has a higher rate of substance use, intimate partner violence, and behavioral health issues, often triggered by a lifetime of emotional trauma and feeling unaccepted by their loved ones and community. How do we signal that they are safe and accepted?