Equality Toolkit : Practical Skills for LGBTQ and DSD-Affected Patient Care

Every individual is entitled to quality health care, but medical professionals are not always equipped with the training and knowledge to provide the necessary care to patients—especially when it comes to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities and individuals with differences of sex development (DSD). For this reason, the University of Louisville School of Medicine established eQuality (www.louisville.edu/medicine/equality/), an inclusive LGBTQ/DSD-affected health training program that was integrated across the medical student curriculum.

After the launch of this program, the university realized that its students needed more clinical skills training to translate classroom learning into patient care. The eQuality Toolkit addresses those gaps by training medical students to care for LGBTQ/DSD-affected communities. These patients experience repeated instances of stigma and discrimination related to their identities, with consequent health and healthcare disparities that knowledgeable healthcare providers can help to address.

The manual presents a practical and fundamental approach to LGBTQ/DSD health and clinical care, and it addresses several categories, including gender-affirming care, inclusive communication skills, and consideration for youth and family planning. The book, which has been used to train medical students in an educational setting, also functions independently as a clinical skills supplement for practicing providers. Most importantly, this resource emphasizes that providers who have open and thoughtful conversations with all patients will help ensure that quality and effective health care is provided.

Laura Weingartner, PhD is a researcher at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She earned her doctorate in biology, and her research focuses on understanding and addressing health disparities with medical education interventions such as eQuality, the integrated LGBTQ health training program for healthcare providers at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Emily Noonan, PhD is a research manager in the Undergraduate Medical Education Research Office at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Noonan earned her doctorate in medical anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her current research focuses on LGBTQ health education and teaching students about the health needs of individuals with disabilities. Amy L. Holthouser, MD is an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist at University of Louisville Healthcare and Kosair Children's Hospital. Dr. Holthouser also leads the MD curriculum at the University of Louisville School of Medicine as Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education. She has won over 35 teaching awards at the school, university, local community, and national level for her groundbreaking work in medical education, and she continues to work to improve LGBT healthcare as a member of the National LGBT Health Education Center Advisory Committee. Jennifer Potter, MD is professor of medicine and advisory dean at Harvard Medical School, co-chair of the Fenway Institute, and founding director of the Women's Health Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her scholarly work focuses on reducing health disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations; curriculum development to enhance medical student competency in SGM health and trauma-informed care; and implementing clinical quality improvement initiatives in the primary care arena. Stacie Steinbock, MEd is the former director of the University of Louisville LGBT Center Satellite Office on the Health Sciences Center. She earned her master's in human sexuality education and adolescent sexual health education, and she played an integral role developing and advocating for LGBTQ health training for providers at the University of Louisville. Suzanne Kingery, MD is director of the Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program at the University of Louisville and serves as course director for Human Systems in Health and Disease for second year undergraduate medical students. She is also Director of the Gender Clinic at UofL Pediatric Endocrinology. Susan Sawning, MSSW, is Director of Medical Education Research at the University of Louisville. She received her Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and initiated the School of Medicine's Medical Education Research Unit in 2002. Susan leads the School of Medicine in multiple research endeavors including the research efforts for eQuality: Leading Medical Education to Deliver Equitable Quality Care for all People, Inclusive of Identity, Development, or Expression of Gender/Sex/Sexuality. Susan also served on the Association of American Medical Colleges Advisory Committee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Sex Development as a member of the Interprofessional Education Ad Hoc Committee. She served as the Principal Investigator on the grant from the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation that provided support for the development of the eQuality Toolkit.