– Daniel Calder, MPH; Baligh R. Yehia, MD, MPP, MSHP; and Neil Fishman, MD staff the new Penn Medicine Program for LGBT Health
Today CPHI is featuring the work of Dr. Baligh Yehia, an Infectious Disease physician and CPHI Senior Fellow.
Dr. Yehia recently launched the Penn Medicine Program for LGBT Health. The program has several aims:
- to nurture a LGBT-inclusive climate and culture at Penn
- to advance LGBT health education and research
- to improve LGBT patient care
- to engage community organizations in the promotion of LGBT health
This interprofessional program is unlike any other LGBT health program in the country, engaging the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Dental Medicine, Center for Public Health Initiatives, and affiliated health systems.
The new program was created to help clinicians be sensitive to the needs of LGBT people.
Why focus on LGBT health specifically? LGBT individuals experience multiple health disparities due to harassment, discrimination, and stigma. These individuals have higher rates of tobacco, alcohol and drug use, depression, suicide, certain cancers, and HIV/STI’s compared to their heterosexual counterparts. In addition, the LGBT community faces many barriers to high quality patient-centered care, including decreased access to healthcare, lack of awareness and insensitivity to their unique health needs, and inequitable health system policies and practices.
How can we help? The Penn Medicine Program for LGBT Health is partnering with CPHI and the Leonard Davis Institute to address the health disparities and barriers to care within the LGBT community. On Tuesday April 1st, from 4:00 to 6:00pm, the program will host an educational event in the John Morgan Reunion Auditorium. The event, entitled “Let’s Talk About Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health: Realizing the unique health needs of the LGBT Community” will feature national and local leaders in LGBT health who will address the Affordable Care Act’s impact on LGBT community, LGBT research and education, and LGBT health and patient care in Philadelphia.
For more information:
- Visit the Penn Medicine Program for LGBT Health’s website
- Check out the Inquirer Article on the program’s launch
- Register for the April 1st event here, or view CPHI’s events page for a flyer and agenda
Public Health at Penn 