The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #66347

Katherine L. Turner, MPH, Training and Service Delivery Improvement Unit, Ipas, 300 Market St., Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-960-5624, turnerk@ipas.org, Wayne L. Wilson, MPH, Triangle Community Works, P.O. Box 5961, Raleigh, NC 27650-5961, and Kate Shirah, MPH, Lesbian Resource Center, 123 Greenmont Lane, Cary, NC 27511.

Health disparities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities are increasingly being recognized, studied and documented. The Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for LGBT Health states “cultural competency training specific to LGBT populations should be a standard component of all health professional training curricula and made available to the health care workforce through continuing education institutes or other appropriate mechanisms.” In 2001, the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Board of Trustees passed the Resolution on Eliminating Health Disparities Based on Sexual Orientation, which called for “professional training opportunities to increase cultural competency of public health and health care professionals with regard to LGBT communities.” Also in 2001, the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at UNC-Chapel Hill included LGBT cultural competency training in the masters program curriculum. Teaching assistants and alumni consultants were brought in to conduct need assessments with students to determine their knowledge levels, personal and professional experience and training needs with regards to the LGBT community. The consultants designed and implemented a half-day workshop based on assessment results, and participants completed evaluations. The consultants have conducted workshops annually for three consecutive years. This paper presents the results of the three years of needs assessments, workshop curriculum and evaluations. The curriculum will be offered for adaptation and implementation in other public health education programs. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for broader integration of LGBT cultural competency training into public health education curricula and in-service training for public health professionals.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to:
• · Describe the results of needs assessments, training interventions and evaluations conducted with public health education masters students;
• · List examples of national documents and resolutions calling for inclusion of LGBT cultural competency training into public health pre-service and continuing education training curricula; and
• · Discuss recommendations for broader integration of LGBT cultural competency training into public health education curricula and in-service training for public health professionals.

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Special Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.