Advancing Queer Affirming Care in South Dakota
Overview
THE PROBLEM
2SLGBTQ+ people need access to affirming medical and mental health care across the state of South Dakota.
THE GAP
Currently, there is no statewide data on the 2SLGBTQ+ community's demographics, health outcomes, or general attitudes and perspectives on living in South Dakota. There is a need for systematic education regarding affirming medical and mental health care.
WHY THIS WORK IS NECESSARY
2SLGBTQ+ South Dakotans deserve to be fully represented in medical, mental, and public health data systems to ensure equitable health outcomes and access to affirming, evidence-based care.
WHAT’S SHAPING THE COMMUNITY
The Inclusive Care Collaborative is establishing itself as experts in 2SLGBTQ+ data, research, and education through community-based research. Queer people leading queer work for change.
Access to affirming care is not a given for 2SLGBTQ+ South Dakotans. A statewide survey of 496 queer-identifying adults conducted by the Inclusive Care Collaborative (ICC) makes the scope of the gap plain: only 36.7 percent of respondents reported that gender-affirming care was available in their community. Those who identified access to that care as very or extremely important had, in nearly half of cases, never received it. Those who had received it told a different story: 94 percent agreed their mental health was better as a result.
Providers across South Dakota have not consistently had access to training that prepares them to offer affirming and culturally competent care. The ICC, a collaboration between South Dakota Transformation Project and Lost&Found, was created to address that gap directly.
The ICC operates from a systems change model. Meaningful improvement in care access and quality requires working at multiple levels simultaneously. The ICC does this by investing in a deep understanding of the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ South Dakotans through community research and survey work and by building the capacity of providers and systems to respond to what that research reveals through our provider training series. The goal is not simply to train individual providers but to shift the conditions that make affirming care difficult to access across the state.
The provider training series offers mental health professionals, healthcare providers, school counselors, and other allied professionals a curriculum grounded in affirming and trauma-informed principles. We also have a community education series which equips 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and their caregivers with tools to navigate systems and advocate effectively for the care they need. A parallel track of training for community allies and partner organizations supports broader cultural shift in the environments where 2SLGBTQ+ people live and seek care.
Results from the first year of provider training are encouraging. Ninety-five percent of participating providers rated their experience a 4 or 5 out of 5, and 85 percent reported feeling equipped to apply what they learned directly in their practice.
This is the first in a series of posts sharing data, stories, and takeaways from the ICC's first year of work. We will be publishing more over the next two months and hope you will follow along.
