EDI

Supporting Gender Diversity within Pharmacy

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By: Asher Davies, BMSc PharmD RPh and Leni Salgado, BSc PharmD RPh CDE

Asher Davies and Leni Salgado
Asher Davies (left) and Leni Salgado (right)
The principle of “Justice” in the Code of Ethics requires that all patients are treated fairly and equitably, with a recognition that patients are worthy of respect, compassion and consideration. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must demonstrate this by having respect for patients’ vulnerability, autonomy, values, beliefs and right to be self-governing decision makers in their own healthcare. Patients deserve care that is respectful, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and complies with accessibility and human rights legislation.

In this article, two pharmacists provide quick tips, practical examples and education opportunities that pharmacy professionals can use to support the provision of affirming and respectful care for gender diverse patients. 

At least 1 in 300 people identified as transgender or non-binary in the 2021 Canadian census. This estimate continues to grow as people become more comfortable sharing their identity within health systems and communities. However, gender diverse individuals often face a higher incidence of inequities when accessing healthcare and experience stigma, discrimination, prejudice, and a lack of dignity and respect. All of this can lead to suboptimal care and poor health outcomes and contribute to avoiding or delaying necessary healthcare.

It is important to identify and remove barriers to welcoming and appropriately caring for gender diverse patients at the pharmacy. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are often the first point of contact for healthcare in community settings and play an important role in making all patients feel welcome and safe.

The three sliders below contain practical tips and examples to help. A printable version is available at the end of the article. 

CREATING A SAFE, INCLUSIVE SPACE

USE OF PATIENT NAMES AND PRONOUNS

INCLUSIVE COMMUNICATION AND PATIENT CONVERSATION


Education Is Important for All Staff at the Pharmacy

Here are some resources to support ongoing learning and cultural competency:

For All Staff:

1. Rainbow Health Ontario is a program of Sherbourne Health that creates opportunities for the healthcare system to better serve 2SLGBTQ communities. The 2SLGBTQ Foundations Course is a great place to start learning about how to best serve/support this community.

2. Ontario Health Quality Standards for Gender-Affirming Care for Gender-Diverse People (pending release 2024-2025). Quality standards outline for Ontario clinicians and patients what quality care looks like with a focus on conditions or topics where there are large variations in how care is delivered, or where there are gaps between the care provided and the care patients should receive.


For Clinical Staff:

3. Rainbow Health Ontario provides reliable and up-to-date health resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and health care professionals. It provides Training Courses on transition related care, hormone therapy in adults and adolescents; Resource Library providing comprehensive information from how to change legal names to reproductive and sexual health; Guidelines for gender-affirming primary care with trans and nonbinary patients (Online Walk-Through and Full Guidelines); Trans Health Mentorship call, which is a teleconference every other week for Ontario clinicians to connect with peers who have experience caring for trans and non-binary service users.

4. WPATH: World Professional Association for Transgender Health is a non-profit, interdisciplinary professional and educational organization devoted to transgender health. It produces the comprehensive Guidelines for Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People

5. Ontario Pharmacist Association (OPA) has an accredited online course for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians called Providing LGBTQ+ Inclusive Care at Your Pharmacy, which gives a general overview of LGBTQ+ healthcare as well as specific pharmacotherapy modules on HIV/AIDS and transgender care.


Supporting gender diversity and providing affirming care infographic thumbnail
DOWNLOAD THE SUPPORTING GENDER DIVERSITY AND PROVIDING AFFIRMING CARE INFOGRAPHIC

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