Overview

The time is now.

There has never been a more critical time to assist in eliminating health care disparities experienced by the LGBTQ community. Inter-sectional issues of discrimination, stigma, access, and quality of care are disparities disproportionately experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

This program will develop a cadre of physicians trained to address the specific health care needs of the LGBTQ community and help relieve the current shortage of providers who are knowledgeable and culturally competent in LGBTQ health—a key social determinant of health affecting this under-served population.

The AMA Foundation is proud to announce that John D. Evans, telecommunications pioneer, internationally-recognized business executive, and philanthropist, has agreed to serve as chair of the Fellowship commission that will guide the request for proposal process. To learn more about the Fellowship Commission on LGBTQ Health, click here.

Learn about those involved

John D. Evans, Commission Chair

“It is critical we eliminate health care disparities facing the LGBTQ community. Intersectional issues of discrimination, stigma, access to and quality of care are experienced at a higher rate by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and we believe this new initiative will improve the health of LGBTQ people across the country.” Learn more…

The Impact

The LGBTQ fellowship program provides a transformative opportunity to:

Donate

#01.

Decrease LGBTQ health disparities

#02.

Increase cultural and clinical competence amongst physicians in LGBTQ health

#03.

Build capacity of LGBTQ health services sector to better identify and address the unique health needs of the LGBTQ community.

#04.

Improve basic quality of life (health and well-being) of LGBTQ communities

#05.

Understand and address social determinants of health faced by this community through the promotion of research and supporting the dissemination of research findings across mediums such as medical journals

#06.

Provide safe entry point to link individuals to broader health and wellness services

Why it matters

Staggering disparities are faced by gender and sexual minorities.

The shortage of health care providers who are fully equipped to care for sexual and gender minorities underscores an immediate need for a national fellowship program. While researchers continue to expand and build a more solid evidence base for LGBTQ health concerns, mainstream media continues to report on the following staggering disparities faced by sexual and gender minorities:

Individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, and transgender lack a consistent, reliable source of credible health care related information, espeically as it relates to conversion and reparative therapies, often causing a breakdown in communication.
Gay men account for more than two thirds of all people diagnosed with HIV each year in the United States, despite comprising only 2% of the general population.
Transgender people are 8 times more likely to report a suicide attempt in their life relative to cisgender people.
Policies that permit the denial of services to LGBT people are linked to a 46% increase in the proportion of gay, lesbian and bisexual adults who report mental distress.
LGBT seniors are more likely to have poor general health, more chronic conditions, higher rates of disability and more psychological distress.
Lesbian and bisexual older women have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and are more likely than heterosexual women to have multiple chronic conditions.
Bisexual and transgender adults are more likely to live in poverty, which heightens their risk for health care disparities and poor health

National Fellowship for LGBTQ Health