Fall 2013 Communique on LGBTQ survey

Dear AOHC Members, RE: Next Steps to the LGBT Survey In March 2013, the AOHC’s LGBT Advisory Group conducted a survey of member centres (Community Health Centres , Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics, Community Family Health Teams, and Aboriginal Health Access Centres), which received a 47% response rate. In the appendix, please find a brief summary of some of the survey’s results and, below, an outline of our next steps. Please note that any personal and/or organizational details shared in the survey will remain anonymous and confidential. Only general findings and aggregates, like those in the appendix, will be shared.

The LGBT Advisory Group has three recommendations from the survey: 1. AOHC CEO: Provide LGBT-related training opportunities for membership.

2. EDs of CHCs/CFHTs/AHACs/NPLCs: Ensure staff and board members have access to training opportunities on LGBT health issues.

3. AOHC Board: Make the Health Equity Charter a required document for all members to sign along with a commitment to implementing it within their centre, and make it part of the AOHC membership form.

From this, the LGBT Advisory Group is creating a work plan for the coming year. Next steps include:     

Establishing partnerships to deliver training and materials for the AOHC Board, staff and members, as well as surveying members about existing materials, trainings, policies and best practices; Collaborating on the development of the AOHC Health Equity Charter adoption and implementation process with Member Services; Working with the EMR to develop and implement sex and gender questions for NOD and/or NeXia and recommendations for any other client databases used by members; Increasing the visibility of LGBT issues in the AOHC Conference; and Engaging volunteers to increase AOHC’s presence at provincial LGBT activities, such as Rainbow Health Ontario’s Conference and World Pride 2014.

We aim to find more ways to engage AOHC members who are LGBT leaders while building the capacity of all AOHC members to create safe organizations that best serve the diverse needs of their LGBT clients and for LGBT staff and board members whether they are openly disclosed or not. We would like to acknowledge the work done by so many with AOHC through the years on these issues, and we are excited to continue this work to improve the quality of service for LGBT members of our communities. In 2009, AOHC held a Board education session with Rainbow Health Ontario, hosted a CHC Round Table on increasing service capacity, included a preconference institute, exhibit, networking session and plenary speaker at the annual conference, and hosted an anti-oppression Think Tank. In 2010, the work continued through similar conference activities and the establishment by the AOHC Board of the LGBT Advisory Group. In 2011, a LGBT Network meeting was held.

Unfortunately, because of multiple pressures, lack of time and resources, the Group was unable to sustain the network’s activities. From 2012 onwards, the Advisory Group has continued to inform AOHC’s Board on these issues and, through the results of the survey, will further define and hone our work.

We appreciate the outstanding work on LGBT issues that happens at many Centres across the province and we look forward to strengthening our work together.

Sincerely, Lise Marie Baudry Chair, AOHC’s LGBT Advisory Group APPENDIX The total number of staff that responded to the survey was 407. As some of the questions were skipped, the actual number of responses was 370, as follows: front-line workers (93), clinical workers (71), Board members (66), senior management (55), administrative and support staff (54), junior managers and team leaders (31).

Replies to the questions show that approximately: -

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76% of respondents are unaware if their centre has LGBT members on their Board; 77% responded that their centre serves clients who are LGBT members of their community, whereas approximately 22% are unaware if they do; 24% stated that their centre does not have policy or guidelines around serving/ supporting LGBT members of their community, whereas 39% of staff were unaware if they do have such policies; 55% indicated that their centre does not have a specific program or specific activities for LGBT members of their community; 38% believed that their centre does not offer staff and/ or board training on issues pertinent to the health of LGBT members of their community and 25% are unaware if the centre does or does not provide such trainings; 17% of respondents who identify as LGBT replied that they feel comfortable in their workplace/on their board, whereas 2% do not.

Open-ended questions to the survey revealed interesting comments. For example, one respondent asked what LGBT is, not being sure what it stands for. The top four themes are as follows: -

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Respondent awareness around LGBT issues seem to be missing, along with the understanding of what renders LGBT health issues unique. More mandatory training for staff (as opposed to what may be already offered as optional) was suggested, along with more human resource policies.

It is still felt that LGBT concerns are not a priority in rural or less populated urban populations.

Some respondents seem to believe that their centres do not have specific LGBT policies or guidelines. While some know that LGBT issues are reflected in the centres’ equity, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies or within their anti-oppression framework, others find a lack of specificity in the centres’ general policies.

Some respondents expressed that there might not be a need for a separate LGBT policy as it would foster a schism between various groups by unnecessarily putting an emphasis on “sexual orientation”. It is believed that all community members are seen as equally important and no group should be receiving special treatment.