New toolkit for healthcare professionals to promote gender- and LGBT-sensitive care

To raise awareness among healthcare professionals about the role that sex, gender and sexual orientation play in disorders and their treatment, the new Coming to the Doctor Toolkit has been launched. The Toolkit offers practical information and refers to relevant interventions, materials and knowledge sources to brush up on knowledge and skills on specific points or to assist patients and clients. A glossary of terms explains where necessary terms that are not yet fully understood. The Toolkit is an initiative of Rutgers, WOMEN Inc. and COC Nederland, who together form the Personalised Health Care Alliance.

Karlijn de Blécourt, co-developer of The Toolkit and working at Rutgers: “Often it doesn’t matter what someone’s sexual preference is, or whether someone identifies as a man or a woman. But when it comes to health it is crucial. Care professionals’ attention to differences in sex, gender and sexual orientation enable them to contribute optimally to the recovery and well-being of the individual patient or client. Yet this approach is far from self-evident. We want to change this with The Toolkit.”

Sensitivity tests for care
The Toolkit also includes a test that gives healthcare professionals insight into the extent to which they are sensitive to diversity in gender, sex and sexual orientation. By answering statements, professionals find out where there is still room for improvement. A concrete step-by-step plan then provides tools for providing tailor-made gender- and LGBT-sensitive care.

Tailor-made Healthcare Alliance
The Alliance for Personalized Healthcare is committed to gender- and LGBT-sensitive care. The Alliance raises awareness among the public, primary care providers and government about the role that sex, gender, sexual orientation and life course play in disorders and their treatment. The Alliance does this by organizing meetings, conferences and Masterclasses on Inclusive Health, by compiling and disseminating knowledge from research and with campaigns (e.g. ‘Komt een mens bij de dokter’) and lobbying. The Toolkit was developed in collaboration with Panton, a design studio specialized in the design of products, services and processes in health care.

Facts & Figures
-Lesbian, gay and bi+ youth are twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts than heterosexual youth. They are also more than four times as likely to have attempted suicide.
-Women are more likely and more likely to suffer side effects from medications than men.
-Two-thirds of trans persons feel lonely, and a quarter even very lonely.  Bisexual people are more likely to be mentally unhealthy (26%) than gay and lesbian people (17%) and heterosexual people (11%).
-Men are less likely to seek professional help for mental health problems and are more likely to drop out when they do. -For more facts and figures see: www.komteenmensbijdedokter.nl