Public Health Liverpool

Specific population groups

As part of the JSNA process the following health needs assessments have been undertaken:

LGBTQ+ Health Needs Assessment (2024)

The following strategic recommendations were developed from survey responses, focus group insight and steering group input. They aim to improve the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ communities across Liverpool, reducing unjust and preventable inequalities in morbidity and mortality. To progress these exploratory recommendations, the multistakeholder Liverpool LGBTQ+ Steering Group including wider health and social care partners will develop an action plan, which will also include operational level recommendations developed from insight within this HNA. The LGBTQ+ Steering Group will share progress against recommendations within the action plan with the Liverpool Health and Wellbeing Board. Further learning will be shared with relevant service areas for future service development.

Recommendations

1. The Liverpool Health and Wellbeing Board and the One Liverpool Partnership Board to examine options to increase commitment across Liverpool health, social care and wider determinants organisations to:

  • deliver staff training on gender terminology, avoiding harmful stereotyping, challenging discrimination, understanding intersectionality and supporting LGBTQ+ communities including young people.
  • create inclusive environments with visual prompts and displays of posters and leaflets with LGBTQ+ representation.
  • strengthen governance including disciplinary responses to harassment, coproduction during commissioning and collation of service user feedback.
  • recognise the need for flexible communication to meet individual need.

2. Community partners to consider options to expand and coproduce campaigns on reporting hate incidents, and to explore how best to improve outcomes for hate incident reporting including satisfactory handling/follow up.

3. Liverpool City Council and partners to continue their commitment to the “Equal and Included” development badge, as part of the UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Programme.

4. Community partners to explore feasibility of a formal LGBTQ+ specialist community advocacy model to support those unable to self-advocate when accessing local services.

5. The LGBTQ+ Steering Group to appraise campaigning options to increase the visibility of existing LGBTQ+ community groups and spaces.

6. Community mental health services to explore opportunities to embed relevant insight to improve and develop the existing mental health offer for LGBTQ+ communities.

7. Community services to explore options to expand the localised support offer for individuals on waiting lists for gender affirmative care including through peer support provision.

8. The LGBTQ+ Steering Group to assess pilot feasibility for a co-created “health passport” programme for LGBTQ+ people.

9. Steering group to explore the possibility of establishing a new physical ‘safe’ space to centre LGBTQ+ work in the city.

At an operational or service level:

10. Services to improve data collection based on sexual orientation and gender identity to enable more effective commissioning of services to suit need.

11. Action to be taken in relation to the high numbers (37%) of LGBTQ+ people smoking or vaping (particularly vaping) – tackled via the tobacco control plan.

12. Improve, via the physical activity strategy, the number of LGBTQ+ people who are exercising regularly in the city (almost 20% suggested they had not recently exercised).

13. Improve knowledge of, and awareness of, sexual health services, testing and HIV PrEP among this population (76% survey respondents had not heard of PrEP).

14. Ensure that our substance use (drug and alcohol) services can effectively identify and support LGBTQ+ people to prevent harmful behaviours.

15. Improved knowledge and awareness of mental health support that is available.

16. Consider the commission of specific training to frontline/healthcare professionals that raise knowledge and awareness of the needs of LGBTQ+ communities and combat stigma (48% of people reported gender stereotyping and 33% inappropriate questions/curiosity).

Liverpool information

Liverpool Equalities Dashboard

Liverpool City Region (LCR)