UK Professor Wins Award for Work in the LGBTQ Community
Members of the LGBTQ population have always had to deal with a lack of healthcare and care that is not suited to their needs which has given rise to illnesses and conditions that could have easily been prevented has the right steps being taken.
Dr Keisa Fallin-Bennett who is an associate professor began her journey towards bringing this community better healthcare in 2016. Understanding the needs and differences for an important demographic has long been ignored and her final goal was to make healthcare accessible and catered towards them. The Transform Health initiative has been lead by Keisa which is an organization that has staff across many fields coming together to serve the LGBTQ community in the UK. The initiative has doctors, nurses, community members and more coming together to be the solution to a problem that persists even today. The idea behind Transform Health is to remove the stigma and lack of safety measures that are unfortunately still prevalent for members of the LGBTQ demographic. The organization also conducts various research studies to better their own team as time goes on. Staff from Transform Health can be reached at multiple locations across the UK and the initiative is only growing. They provide consultation, hormone therapy guidance and counselling.
Recently, Dr Keisa Fallin-Bennett had been awarded the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Advocate Award which is an award for the people that have made an amazing difference with their work in civic advocacy. The criteria for the award are the change they have managed to create and the creativeness associated with their initiative. Keisa says that many members of the community have insurance but struggle with getting the personalised help they need. Transform Health also given patients the ability to access a medication that is proven to prevent HIV and has come back with great test results.
Her initiative’s impact does not stop there as a huge component of the initiative is educating people in the healthcare sector regarding how they can treat people in the LGBTQ community better by understanding what they need. The initiative also hosts multiple events that educate people about various persisting issues such as options for reproducing and the patient’s own sexual health and well being. These events have no charge attached to them with everyone being able to attend and take part. The aim of the events is to educate people about their own health while also better equipping the people in charge of their healthcare so that they are able to know what is needed.
Emily Harcourt is a health writer and advocate dedicated to raising awareness about breast cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment advancements. She focuses on sharing expert insights and patient stories to educate and inspire.
