BY ERIN TALLY, SENIOR MEMBER RELATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
Research starting more than a decade ago shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) patients have borne a tremendous burden of discrimination, lower quality of care, and health disparity. Portions of the LGBTQ population have reported
health care professionals refusing to touch them, employing harsh language, or being physically rough or abusive.
The Massachusetts Medical Society has provided $16,000 annually in research and curriculum development awards to students, residents, and fellows since 2016 in recognition of the unique health care needs of LGBTQ individuals and communities. The goal
of the grants is to encourage and incorporate cultural competency training early in medical education to make strides toward improving health care quality, access, and equity for LGBTQ patients in the Commonwealth.
In 2016, the Society supported the creation of an LGBTQ Research Pilot Program, which was introduced by the Committee on LGBTQ Matters and subsequently administered by that committee together with the MMS Committee on Medical Education. The Committee
on LGBTQ Matters, whose members include state and national experts in sexual and gender minority health, found the pilot program to be a success, which led to the 2019 establishment of a permanent grant program, renamed the LGBTQ Health Disparities
Grant.
Since its inception, 30 grants have been awarded to 16 medical students (and student groups) and to 14 residents/fellows (and resident groups). All four Massachusetts medical schools and 10 different residency programs from across the state have benefited
from the grant program. Recipients have used funds to attend conferences, develop new curricula for their medical schools, residencies, and fellowships, and support novel research in LGBTQ health services and disparities.
Grants Have a Lasting Impact on Communities and Careers
Past recipients describe the personal impact of the grants and the sustained benefits for patients and whole communities. Josh St. Louis, MD, MPH, was one of the initial grant recipients for the project, Creation of a Transgender Training Symposium at Lawrence Family Medicine.
“As part of the symposium, we trained a number of attending physicians in gender-affirming care who were then able to support increased patient access,” says Dr. St. Louis. “Our program now cares for over 200 gender diverse patients in the
Merrimack Valley, and we have trained 32 family medicine residents in gender-affirming care, with 11 more currently in training. We owe all of this to the support from the MMS grant.”
Carly E. Guss, MD, MPH, a 2016 grant recipient, and now an attending physician in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, notes, “This grant allowed
me to work directly with transgender youth regarding their experiences in primary care and create a video with them collaboratively to improve clinical care.” The project led to the 2022 article, “Use of an Educational Video to Improve Transgender Health Care Knowledge.”
The committees continue to evaluate and revise the grant selection to ensure diversity of grantees and sustainability of research and programming. Inculcating a strong cultural competency among medical students and physicians furthers the MMS commitment
to educating physicians about providing appropriate and equitable health care to LGBTQ patients.
Announcements for grant applications are made in August; the submission deadline is in October. Learn more about applying for the LGBTQ grant by emailing Erin Tally at etally@mms.org.
LGBTQ Grant Recipients and Topics 2023
