UB medical students make it easier to find gender-affirming care in Buffalo | Local News

BUFFALO — Gender-affirming health care just got a little easier to access in Western New York, thanks to a new webpage developed by University at Buffalo medical students working with local clinicians.

The webpage, LGBTQIA2S+ Healthcare Resources in Erie County, went live this month and is hosted by the Erie County Department of Health. It provides information on local healthcare resources specifically for patients who identify as LGBTQIA2S+. (The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual and two-spirit.)

“People seeking gender-affirming health care should know that our region has a strong base of clinical and medical resources,” says Gale R. Burstein, MD, Erie County Health Commissioner and clinical professor in pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine. and biomedical sciences at UB.

“It makes sense that we as a local health department would host this list,” she continues. “LGTBQIA2S+ patients are more likely to be disproportionately impacted by health disparities. This comprehensive list will save patients time researching medical care options, and we are proud to support connections between LGTBQIA2S+ patients and the health care they seek.

The need for such a resource became apparent when a new faculty member at the Jacobs School who provides gender-affirming services had difficulty finding other local clinicians doing the same. Gender-affirming healthcare providers often refer patients to each other. It is therefore important that they know themselves and the extent of their colleagues’ practices.

A quick search revealed only one name: Elana Tal, MD, assistant professor in the Jacobs School’s department of obstetrics and gynecology. Tal lectures medical students in the reproductive module and is vocal about his support for transgender and gender non-conforming people. She explicitly uses gender-neutral terminology and is course director for the Jacobs School’s transgender elective, developed by Class of 2023 Jacobs School graduate Nat Voos, MD.

She knew there were many clinicians in Buffalo and Erie County who provided gender-affirming care, but the fact that they were hard to find with a quick web search was, she said- her, a subject of concern.

With Burstein’s help, Tal called a meeting with local clinicians who shared his concerns.

An additional barrier

“Not being able to access this information simply becomes an additional barrier for people already stigmatized by society and the medical system,” says Tal. “They already have difficulty accessing care.”

These barriers are well documented and can ultimately make patients reluctant to seek any type of medical care, posing an important health equity issue.

It quickly became clear that there was a need for some kind of central repository of information for people seeking gender-affirming care.

Tal organized several students who she knew were interested in improving gender-affirming care in Western New York and gender-affirming education at the Jacobs School. The group included Virginia Alexandria Headd, MD, a 2024 graduate of the Jacobs School who will soon begin a family medicine residency at Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Madison Clague of the Class of 2026; and Zoe Arditi and Berkley Sawester of the Class of 2027.

“We were dismayed by the difficulty of finding providers, but also pleasantly surprised by the depth and breadth of services provided by physicians once we identified them,” says Tal. “People were universally proud to provide this care. The problem was that the information was not in one place.

Transmitting this information to those who need it has become the group’s main mission.

Clague was well aware of the need to share this information widely. She previously earned a master’s degree in public health at Columbia University, where her dissertation focused on “The LGBTQ+ Healthcare Landscape in the United States: Patient and Provider Perspectives.”

“Almost a lot of word of mouth”

“One of the things I discovered while doing my dissertation was that people said the only way to find gender-affirming care was basically word of mouth,” she says. “Just trying to find someone you trust or just knowing someone who has been through this situation before you and then relying on their reference is not sustainable. »

Headd led the students in developing and distributing the survey to local practices to find out what type of gender-affirming care is offered and where.

Overall, the response was positive. “Everyone was supportive,” Headd says. “Some did not want their names on the website but were OK with information about their practice being made accessible to patients.”

Gender-affirming care encompasses a much broader range than one might think. This can range from medical and psychiatric treatments to many types of plastic surgery, including oral and maxillofacial surgery and otolaryngology, to speech therapy coaching, all available in Erie County .

“Transgender patients seek different types of medical and surgical care,” says Tal. “Some don’t ask for any and others want a lot of intervention. These procedures may involve obtaining care from several different departments through several different practices and several different hospitals.

To continue their work, the students submitted an application for a Jacobs School Social Justice Grant for this project for the upcoming year.

They are also committed to improving gender-affirming education for their peers. For example, Arditi and Sawester helped organize the annual OUTpatient conference at the Jacobs School in May, focused on gender-affirming care in Buffalo. OUTpatient is the LGBTQIA+ student organization at the Jacobs School.

“In medical school, you develop your perception of how patients are going to present to you, and if it’s never presented to you, you’ll never think about it,” Headd says. “You don’t really cement these things until you see your first patient with a certain condition or identity.”

Tal concludes: “What I really like is that these students choose to put their scientific interests into an advocacy project in a scientifically rigorous way, collecting data and reviewing literature with sensitivity to the needs of the community. I’m really proud of them for making a difference.

Gender-affirming providers who would like to be considered for inclusion on the webpage can email Tal at [email protected].