Changing the Lives of LGBTQ People and Their Families
Howard Brown Health’s Center for Education, Research, and Advocacy (ERA) conducts rigorous community-based medical and behavioral research, cultivates responsive healthcare professionals, and advances policies that affirm the lives of LGBTQ people and their families. ERA seeks to transform the world beyond our clinics, making exceptional and affirming LGBTQ healthcare accessible everywhere. Through Howard Brown, ERA develops and disseminates community-driven, high quality best practices in LGBTQ health.
Education
Empowering Healthcare Professionals ERA’s education program is tailored to healthcare professionals who seek to better support LGBTQ+ people within their…
Research
Research at Howard Brown Health Howard Brown Health has a long history of participating in community-based education, research and advocacy…
Advocacy
What’s New in Advocacy at Howard Brown? Want a full rundown on our policy priorities and recommendations for 2024? We’ve…
History
Howard Brown has a history of participating in community-based education, research and advocacy aimed at addressing gaps in healthcare practice. The organization’s research activities began in the late 1970s when high rates of hepatitis B (HBV) were first identified among its patients, initiating a new research program that eventually led to the development of the HBV vaccine. Since then, Howard Brown has been involved in nationally-funded research initiatives aimed at addressing critical disparities in LGBTQ health, focused on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, infectious disease, smoking cessation, preventive care, and gender affirming care.
Howard Brown has always answered the call of our neighbors to provide vital education addressing the needs of the LGBTQ communities. In 2009, Howard Brown developed the Nurse’s Health Education About LGBTQ Elders (HEALE) curriculum to address the critical shortage of gerontological nurses knowledgeable about the unique issues of the aging LGBTQ community. The program has since grown into a nationally recognized LGBTQ education program focused on building health care provider LGBTQ cultural competency.
While advocacy has always been at the core of Howard Brown activities, Howard Brown’s current program was formed to address the need for more patient-centered LGBTQ competent sexual assault services. The focus has since broadened to expand patient access to affirming LGBTQ medical care and other issues pertaining to LGBTQ health. In 2017, Howard Brown formed the Center for Education, Research and Advocacy out of its strategic planning process, strengthening the organization’s reach impact and influence in healthcare locally and nationally.