American College of Physicians publishes second edition of The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health

New content teaches current, future providers about the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minorities

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Apr 30, 2015, 02:00 ET

PHILADELPHIA, April 30, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Physicians (ACP) today released the second edition of The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health during its annual scientific meeting, Internal Medicine Meeting 2015.

The textbook is edited by Dr. Harvey Makadon, Dr. Ken Mayer, and Hilary Goldhammer of The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health, and Dr. Jennifer Potter of Fenway Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Written for clinicians, students, public health professionals, researchers, and policymakers about the unique health care needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, its goal is to help the health care community in making their practices welcoming, inclusive of, and educated about LGBT patients. The new edition has been updated, with approximately 80 percent new content, to address the clinical and social changes that have emerged over the past eight years, since the first edition was published.

"We are pleased to publish this significantly updated Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health," said Dr. David Fleming, president, ACP. "The book is a valuable resource that addresses common health disparities experienced by LGBT patients and how health care providers, students, and trainees of all disciplines and specialties of medicine, along with researchers, policymakers and public health professionals can improve the health of this population."

In addition to having the same basic health needs as the general population, LGBT individuals often experience disparities in health and access to health care. For example:

LGBT youth are at increased risk of homelessness, bullying and victimization, and suicide attempts;
LGBT people smoke at much higher rates than the general population; they also may be more likely to use alcohol and drugs;
Young men who have sex with men and transgender women are infected with HIV at alarming rates, and need better access to prevention and care for HIV and sexually transmitted infections;
LGBT people may experience a high burden of depression, anxiety, and self-harm behaviors often due to social minority stressors;
Lesbian and bisexual women are less likely to receive preventive screening for cervical cancer than heterosexual women;
Transgender people experience discrimination in health care and bear a high burden of trauma and suicide.

"As medical and public health providers, it is our responsibility to be familiar with emerging LGBT health issues so that we are delivering high quality care in an environment that is welcoming and inclusive," said Dr. Makadon, director of the National LGBT Health Education Center at The Fenway Institute and clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Without feeling affirmed, people will not come for prevention or care. We must facilitate dialogue about behaviors and situations that result in these health care disparities so that patients are comfortable being honest and open with us. Communication between physicians and patients is fundamental to providing quality health care."

The Fenway Guide contains chapters on subjects covering the lifecourse, including chapters on coming out, caring for youth, family and relationships, and aging. Other topics in this edition include emerging LGBT global health issues, new standards for comprehensive care of transgender people, behavioral health, gender identity development in children and teens, sexual health, and advances in HIV/AIDS prevention, particularly for sexual and gender minorities. The book is designed for individual usage, and also can be used as a tool for teaching a LGBT health curriculum; chapters can also be used separately in various educational contexts.

The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health will be distributed by all major distributors and medical book sellers and is available to purchase at www.acponline.org/fenway and www.amazon.com, or by calling ACP Customer Service at 800-523-1546, ext. 2600, or 215-351-2600.

About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 141,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.

About Fenway Health
For more than forty years, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues. Fenway's Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center cares for youth and young adults ages 12 to 29 who may not feel comfortable going anywhere else, including those who are LGBT or just figuring things out; homeless; struggling with substance use; or living with HIV/AIDS. In 2013, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts joined the Fenway Health family, allowing both organizations to improve delivery of care and services across the state and beyond. For more information, visit www.fenwayhealth.org.

SOURCE American College of Physicians