Culturally Competent and Compassionate LGBT+ in Health and Social Care Conference

I am pleased to invite you to the Culturally Competent and Compassionate LGBT+ Inclusive Education in Health and Social Care Conference at Middlesex University London, in-person, on Friday 1^st July 2022 from 9:00 – 16:00. 

This is a FREE one-day, in-person, conference at Middlesex University in London where we will discuss LGBT+ inclusion in health and social care education and practice, hear from experts in the field as well as presenting the IENE-LGBT+ project outputs. 

The conference is a part of Erasmus+ Funded project titled Developing a culturally competent and compassionate LGBT+ curriculum in health and social care education. The Project aims to enable health and social care professionals, practitioners, academics, and students to enhance their skills regarding LGBT+ issues through the development of teaching tools to support the inclusion of LGBT+ issues within health and social care curricula. The project, led by Middlesex University, is in collaboration with six other EU partners: Edunet in Romania, Cyprus University of Technology, the University of Almeria in Spain, the University of Southern Denmark, the Sapienza University of Rome in Italy and St Augustinus Fachkliniken in Germany. 

As part of the project a new Culturally Competent and Compassionate LGBT+ Curriculum has been developed, piloted, and delivered though a MOOC in which over 750 participants took part across the globe. This, together with all of the projects outputs will be presented at the conference. 

I hope you will join us in London for this exciting event, everyone is welcome from all over the globe and the project partners will attend to present LGBT+ issues from their country’s perspective. You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #IENELGBT22.

Tea/coffee, breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration is compulsory so please book to avoid missing out! Check the flyer attached for details, scan the QR code or click here to register. 

If you have any questions please contact the project coordinator, Alfonso Pezzella at a.pezzella@mdx.ac.uk.   

Background to the project

Evidence shows issues with professional conduct and discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT+) people in health and social care, continue to exist in the UK. This indicates the need to ensure that health and social care professional education must include exploration of LGBT+ issues, in order to enable professionals to provide culturally competent and compassionate care which is free from prejudice to this population.  

 There seems to be a lack of covering in LGBT+ health needs in the health and social care curriculum. IENE 9, an Erasmus+ funded project, adopted a mixed-method and innovative approach for gathering and developing teaching tools and resources for a more culturally competent and compassionate LGBT+ education in health and social care curricula across Europe.  

The IENE 9 project is addressing this gap in education which will improve the care provided for LGBT+ people. Specific training on LGBT+ issues may result in better knowledge and skills of the health and social care workforce, which helps to reduce inequalities and communication between providers and LGBT+ people, as well as diminishing the feelings of stigma and discrimination experienced by LGBT+ people (Carr & Pezzella, 2017; Sekoni, Gale, Manga‐Atangana, Bhadhuri, & Jolly, 2017). 

Stigma towards LGBT+ individuals cannot be eradicated overnight and shifting cultural beliefs is a slow process that requires imaginative and creative methods to encourage people to learn more about LGBT+ topics. Exposure to LGBT+ issues, through awareness workshops and campaigns, could facilitate this process. Health and social care professionals are the champions overlooking vulnerable LGBT+ people and it is vital for practitioners and educators to join hands and provide both educational material and policies to protect LGBT+ rights.