LGBTQ+ Speaker Series: LGBTQ+ Youth Health
I was privileged to continue collaborating with CVS Health and Accenture on the CVS Health-Accenture LGBTQ+ Health Equity Speaker Series for its next session–LGBTQ+ Youth Health and Well-Being. As a founding member and producer of the series, I was a bit surprised (and honored!) to be asked by the rest of the group to moderate a portion of the panel. I also continued in my standard core team role while pulling this double-duty.
In this session, we explored perspectives from young adults on health care challenges and what they’d like to see in system improvements. We also split the discussion into three specific chapters–Identity 101, Authenticity & Wellbeing at Work, and Finding Care & Community. The section I moderated was the final one, Finding Care & Community, an obvious concentrated passion area with its intersection of health care and community. The discussion was fascinating. As an example, in researching this and speaking with the panelists, I was a bit surprised (and concerned!) that TikTok is a primary source of health care information for young adults. (My concern, naturally, comes from the fact that literally anyone with an account can assume expertise in any topic online. One must be very careful with social media or disinformation and misinformation from bad actors and selfish actors can easily find its way through to unsuspecting users. This transcends TikTok to other social media platforms as well.)
Joining us in this discussion included Shawn Reilly, Program Coordinator for the Vanderbilt Program for LGBTQ Health; Brandon Ringham, Consulting Senior Analyst for Accenture; and Rebecca Semik, consultant, educator, writer, and coach. And special thanks to them for sharing their experiences and insights.
This discussion on LGBTQ+ Youth Health and Well-Being was the extension of our first year of work, now centering on a specific age group within the community. View the discussion on YouTube here. For information on prior sessions, view any and all of my prior posts during those launches:
- To learn more about the overall series and first session on the legacy of health care difficulties the LGBTQ+ community has faced and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine impacts, check out my first announcement.
- To learn about the second session on the transgender health care patient experience, check out my second announcement.
- To learn about the third session on mental wellness, check out my third announcement.
- To learn about the fourth session on Building Cross-Sector Partnerships & Solutions, check out my fourth announcement.
I continue to be proud of how this series evolves and remains relevant in a litany of LGBTQ+ health care issues. We can all continue learning, and I am inspired by the vulnerability and insights our guests openly share. Health equity is needed across the board, and we can all take steps to build a healthier tomorrow.
To our collective health!
Note: The opinions expressed in this post and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not those of CVS Health.
