Promo | Jiahui Health Celebrates Pride Month
All Image Courtesy of Jiahui Health Unless Otherwise Noted
Earlier this month, staff and doctors from departments across Jiahui Health celebrated Pride Month by participating in and contributing to LGBT events.
On June 9th, Jiahui Health invited representatives from QingAi Clinic, which specializes in serving the medical needs of the LGBT community in Shanghai, to exchange lessons and experience serving LGBT people. Medical staff from the Jiahui Health Sexual Health Clinic, Family Medicine Department, Health Management Center, and the Jiahui Mental Health Department were delighted to participate and learn how they can create a more inclusive and LGBT-friendly healthcare environment.
The workshop began with a telepresentation from the founder of QingAi Health Center and co-founder of QingAi Clinic. The presenter, who is now the General Manager of Shanghai Qingai Health Center, introduced the general circumstances faced by the LGBT community in China. While homosexuality was decriminalized in 1997, same-sex marriage remains illegal in China, and survey data suggests that only about 5% of the LGBT community are completely open about their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression in daily life.
He recommended that in order to create an inclusive and welcoming healthcare environment, professionals in the health care and mental health fields need to raise their level of awareness and understanding of sexual minorities. According to research, medical staff in China still generally make heterosexual and cis-gender assumptions during consultations, and sometimes obviously avoid or refuse to even treat HIV-positive patients. In the field of mental health, some consultants or doctors problematize the sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression of sexual minorities, and try to persuade them to change or even provide so-called “corrective treatment”.
Following the presentation from QingAi Clinic, Dr. Victoria King and Dr. Julie Zhu of the Family Medicine Department at Jiahui Health gave a presentation entitled, “The Inclusive Jiahui Model”, in which they emphasized that it is the responsibility of everyone involved in the patient experience, from nurses and doctors, to those working the receptionist desk and pharmacy to insure an inclusive healthcare environment.
The goal of this model is to create a healthcare environment that is free from the limitations of prejudice, enabling treatment this is tailored and timely, and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality risk with respect to health for the LGBT community. Without these steps, members of the LGBT community may not feel comfortable receiving medical care, as was the case with a patient who visited Dr. King.
The patient was complaining of pain in their abdomen, and Dr. King quickly determined that they were likely suffering from appendicitis, recommending that they quickly seek treatment at the ER department at Jiahui International Hospital. If left untreated, the appendix can burst, spilling bacteria and debris into the abdominal cavity and seriously threatening the patient’s life. As it turned out, the patient was a transgender man, and was hesitant to seek this potentially lifesaving treatment because he was worried about the discrimination that he might face.
In these circumstances, a prejudiced medical environment represents a genuine risk to patient health. This should be intolerable to medical professionals, as their greatest responsibility, harkening back to the Hippocratic Oath, is to do no harm.
Image Courtesy of Shanghai Pride
On June 13, Dr. Felice Soo of Jiahui Health gave a presentation at the Pride Forum entitled “Internal Acceptance of One’s LGBT+ Identity”. Dr. Soo is a licensed, LGBT-friendly clinical psychologist with 8 years of experience working with diverse populations from different countries, LGBT individuals and ethnic minorities.
During her presentation, Dr. Soo discussed the stages of development of gay and lesbian identity, emphasizing the importance of allowing individuals to decide for themselves when they are ready to be open about their own sexuality. Internalized homophobia, stereotypes, and prejudice, as well as social and self-expectations can hinder someone’s progress in accepting their true self. Dr. Soo said that this was reflected in her own clinical experience, discussing common themes that she encounters in her sessions, including the difficulty of coming out to ones parents and significant others, validation of ones relationships by their friends and coworkers, and fear of exposure, rejection, and discrimination.
Image Courtesy of Shanghai Pride
Dr. Soo advised her audience that positivity is key to progress. So many of us are kind to others, but quick to be negative when addressing ourselves. She urged people to speak to themselves with compassion and self-forgiveness as they negotiate their own journey of self-discovery.
Jiahui Health is committed to creating an open, inclusive healthcare environment where every patient has equal access to our top-quality medical environment. As Dr. Victoria King said, creating that environment will require every member of the Jiahui family. WE are so grateful to those LGBT groups who allowed us to exchange and learn how we can realize this goal, and we look forward to future cooperation with LGBT groups and the LGBT community.
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