Advocates for Youth (formerly the Center for Population Options) works to increase the opportunities for and abilities of youth to make healthy decisions about sexuality.

Get the comprehensive resource for LGBT public health issues! Public health services for sexual minorities have suffered from practitioners’ lack of knowledge about sexual or gender orientation, specific health concerns, and inherent system homophobia and heterosexism. The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health: A Practitioner’s Guide to Service provides a unique focus on LGBT public health, offering positive direction for practitioners looking for guidance in methods to ensure a healthy community for all while taking into consideration the special needs of sexual minorities. Ignorance and fear by both practitioners and LGBT clients leads to less-than-optimum public health services. The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health extensively discusses these issues clearly, working to foster cultural competency among public health professionals. This book lays the groundwork for better understanding of LGBT health issues and their relationship to overall public health, then delves into the research on how incorporating LGBT cultural competency can improve academic institutions and continuing education programs. The problem of providing health care access and the health issues burdening each segment of the LGBT community are discussed in detail, all with a focus on providing effective solutions to tough challenges. Clear strategies are also presented for improving city, county, state, and national public health infrastructures and policies. The issue of productive and safe work environments in business and the private sector for LGBT individuals is addressed, along with a close look at the advantages—and pitfalls—of media and Internet resources. Many chapters are illustrated with tables and diagrams; each chapter is exhaustively referenced, includes useful lists of selected resources, and asks questions to spark thought on the issues as they pertain to the reader's circumstances. The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health discusses: the inequities in health care for LGBT people overt prejudice, discrimination, disdain, or outright denial of services assumption by health professionals of risk factors based on sexual or gender orientation rather than individual behaviors and health history unwitting expression of biases of many public health practitioners the effect of social stigma on public health care services LGBT cultural competency framework for institutions of higher learning and professional organizations LGBT awareness, sensitivity, and competency training sexually transmitted diseases reproductive cancers intimate partner violence noncommunicable diseases among gay and bisexual men ’down low’ behavior (avowed straight men with spouses having sex with other men) as public health issue AIDS-related malignancies transsexuals and transphobia hormonal therapy sex reassignment surgery (SRS) mental health needs of transsexuals, cross-dressers, and intersex individuals barriers to health care access insurance systems confidentiality of medical records substance use health care issues for LGBT youth and young adults health care needs of LGBT elders recommendations for improvement of health and welfare services The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health is a one-of-a-kind resource for LGBT public health issues, essential for public health professionals, practitioners, health services professionals, substance abuse counselors, disease intervention specialists, public health advisors, community health service administrators, community based agencies, and community health nurses. Educators in community hea

Promoting Youth Sexual Health, written for preventionists and interventionists who work with children and adolescents across home, school, or community settings, offers guidance on how to promote sexual health among youth. The reader is first introduced to the state of the field, including sexual behaviors in which youth engage, sexual risk and protective factors, standards and professional guidelines for promoting sexual health of youth, developmental and cultural considerations, and considerations in supporting LGBTQ youth. Evidence-based strategies to support child and adolescent sexual health in homes, schools, and communities are then presented. The book concludes with a proposed model for integrating supports across settings to comprehensively promote youth sexual health.

Complete with an impressive collection of complex background and research on HIV/AIDS and a foreword by Dr. Peter Piot, former Executive Director of UNAIDS, this volume collects and critically analyzes a wide range of international case studies, detailing why and how businesses take action on HIV/AIDS and providing a wealth of information on the impact of the pandemic.

Medical Ethics in Health Care Chaplaincy is a response to the new challenges spiritual care providers are confronted with in a profession that has faced dramatic change in function and scope over the last few decades. The rich collection of essays brings together the experience, approaches and research of many US and German scholars in the area of ethics, medicine, theology, psychology and spiritual care. This is an invaluable resource addressing the many spiritual, religious and ethical issues in providing care to the sick and dying for hospital chaplains, clergy, health care professionals, teachers, academics, ethics committee members and students in medical ethics, theology and/or religious studies.

This book presents a structured yet flexible methodology for developing intercultural competence in a variety of contexts, both formal and informal. Piloted around the world by UNESCO, this methodology has proven to be effective in a range of different contexts and focused on a variety of different issues. It, therefore can be considered an important resource for anyone concerned with effectively managing the growing cultural diversity within our societies to ensure inclusive and sustainable development. Intercultural competence refers to the skills, attitudes, and behaviours needed to improve interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity, and so on) or across borders. The book serves as a tool to develop those competences, presenting an innovative adaptation of what could be considered an ancient tradition of storytelling found in many cultures. Through engaging in the methodology, participants develop key elements of intercultural competence, including greater self-awareness, openness, respect, reflexivity, empathy, increased awareness of others, and in the end, greater cultural humility. This book will be of great interest to intercultural trainers, policy makers, development practitioners, educators, community organizers, civil society leaders, university lecturers and students – all who are interested in developing intercultural competence as a means to understand and appreciate difference, develop relationships with those across difference, engage in intercultural dialogue, and bridge societal divides.

A comprehensive guide to creating, implementing, and evaluating culturally competent HIV prevention programs. Recent literature on effective HIV/AIDS prevention programs underscores the importance of cultural sensitivity and cultural competence in the delivery of services and care. Successful prevention interventions must be tailored for their target populations. Yet many HIV/AIDS prevention professionals struggle to meet the specific needs of their communities. Tools for Building Culturally Competent HIV Prevention Programs contains a variety of well-informed, evidence-based approaches to HIV prevention programs. It offers all the tools practitioners need to launch an effective prevention program: from identifying program goals and objectives, to developing program models, to recruiting and retaining staff, and finally to conducting evaluations and reporting results. All material is filtered through a cultural perspective and methods are tailored to specific racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Additional resources are included to assist in the preparation and development of your prevention program, such as: Federal standards and guidelines for culturally competent health care and social service provision True-life case studies that show how other HIV prevention programs succeeded Checklists, worksheets and templates to create, monitor, and manage your program The CD includes: Customizable checklists and worksheets that you can use in your program A demonstration of the Virtual Program Evaluation Consultant (VPEC) software program, a program evaluation service offered by Sociometrics Corporation. Purchasers of this book will get a three-month license to VPEC free Use the companion volume, The Complete HIV/AIDS Teaching Kit (with CD-ROM, in your prevention program to assist you in providing an overview of the incidence, prevalence, prevention, and treatment of HIV/AIDS to all your students, patients, or clients.

"This practical guide outlines five keys to effectively close achievement gaps in their districts and schools and provides tools for increasing student achievement"--