LGBT Health: A Key Curricular Component In the Pursuit of Health Equity

Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community face barriers to accessing high-quality, competent, and affirming health care, which is associated with negative health outcomes. Increasing sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)-related knowledge and cultural competency among allied health professionals is one strategy to improve quality of care for the LGBT community. To address this social justice issue, an assessment of curricular content at Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited U.S. schools of public health was conducted.

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) recommends that social determinants of health, which contribute to health disparities, be included in MPH core curricula at CEPH-accredited U.S. schools of public health. Despite this recommendation, our research suggests that there is limited SOGI curricular content. We will present findings on the inclusivity of SOGI-related curricular content in U.S. schools of public health from an assessment of available courses with substantial content on SOGI. In order to effectively teach about social determinants of health, it is imperative that public health curricula include SOGI-content along with more commonly discussed social determinants of health. These data will inform public health faculty, administrators, students and staff on the current state of LGBT-inclusivity, highlighting the need for supplemental SOGI-specific educational programming. Improving LGBT-inclusivity and cultural competency more broadly may have lasting effects on allied health professionals’ ability to provide high-quality treatment and care for all.