What should you say if your patient is struggling with her sexuality? How do you respond to your married patient when he discloses to you his same-sex sexual history? To which medical studies do you turn when you need to know more about club drugs? As physicians and health professionals, you want to provide the best possible care for your patients, but medical schools and other health care teaching institutions do not generally provide comprehensive information on how to approach caring for sexual-minority patients. Allan Peterkin and Cathy Risdon have written this book to assist busy clinicians, offering practical and evidence-based information to help in the care of gay and lesbian patients. The authors begin with an overview of the history of medical relations with lesbian and gay patients, providing advice and guidelines for strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and raising the standard of care for all patients. The book then delves into a range of specific clinical issues, such as risk profiles for particular illnesses, screening for and managing sexually transmitted infections and HIV in the primary care setting.
Subsequent chapters cover such wide-ranging topics as mental health care and the effects of homophobia on relationships, same-sex parenting, the role that body image plays in health, and unique populations such as lesbian and gay ethno-racial minorities, the transgendered, rural lesbian and gay people, and elders. Each chapter includes practical tips (advice on inclusive language for example) and summaries, along with references to written and online resources. Comprehensive and detailed, this work covers physical and mental health across the life cycle, with equal emphasis on women's and men's health.
Author Biography
Allan D. Peterkin is Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Toronto where he heads the Program in Health, Arts and Humanities. He is the author of 14 books for adults and children including Staying Human During Residency Training (University of Toronto Press) now in its sixth edition Cathy Risdon is an associate professor and the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine at McMaster University.
