Cultural Competency Curricula
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) identified and reviewed curricula that help behavioral health and primary care practitioners assess, treat, and refer LGBT clients in a culturally competent manner. SAMHSA and HRSA reviewed the curricula to ensure that they were federally-supported and available for Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Education Unit (CME/CEU) credit.
The following list was compiled by SAMHSA and HRSA and is a result of a commitment made by HHS to improve LGBT health and well-being:
Note: This list includes non-federal resources in order to provide a wider scope of information. The views and content in these resources have not been formally approved by the HHS or HRSA. Listing these resources is not an endorsement by HHS or HRSA.
Effective Communication Tools for Health Professionals
A free, on-line, go-at-your-own-pace training that has helped approximately 29,700 health care professionals and students improve patient-provider communication. The course includes LGBT populations as part of an overall approach to healthcare communication and reflects HRSA’s mandate to serve the underserved in a culturally competent way. No-cost continuing education credits are available for a variety of health professionals through professional associations, who will award up to six credits. These professional associations are:
- American Medical Association
- American Nurses Association
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Pharmacists Association
- American Academy of Physician Assistants
- American Diabetes Educators Association
- American Society for Health Education
- National Association of Social Workers
For more information visit http://www.hrsa.gov/publichealth/healthliteracy/index.html
HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Disorders in Ethnic Minority Men Who Have Sex with Men
This course was designed for behavioral healthcare professionals working with minority men who have sex with men (MSM) who have substance use disorders and are at risk for contracting HIV. Each module in this curriculum addresses the distinct needs of the following cultural/ethnic groups of minority MSM: Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian (API), American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and African American (AA). This curriculum was specifically designed for online use. This curriculum has the following goals:
- Becoming familiar with the epidemiology of alcohol and other drug use and HIV risk of minority MSM populations
- Identifying important or unique social and cultural influences
- Increasing awareness of how subpopulations of MSM differ with respect to alcohol and other drugs and HIV related conduct
- Recognizing and leveraging the unique factors that reduce risk of HIV/AIDS; and
- Helping to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities within the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
For more information visit Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network Course at
National LGBT Health Education Center Continuing Education
The National LGBT Health Education Center offers a range of educational programs on various topics designed to meet the different learning styles, needs, and time constraints of their audiences. Their programs follow the principles of adult learning and recognize that adults are self-directed, goal-oriented learners who need to see the relevance of the educational material as well as being able to apply it to their everyday practice. A number of the educational programs offer Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Education Units (CEU).
For more information visit http://www.lgbthealtheducation.org/ 
Nurses Health Education About LGBT (HEAL) Elders Curriculum
This curriculum for nurses focuses on teaching cultural competency in the care of LGBT older adults. The curriculum was developed by Howard Brown Health Center of Chicago entitled “Health Education about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders” was presented to health care providers and published in the Journal of Nursing Management. The HEAL Curriculum is funded through a HRSA grant. The curriculum is available to a variety of healthcare and educational settings for nursing staff and students, as well as any other disciplines who would like to use the curriculum. The curriculum has a series of six one-hour sessions and is offered at no cost to the hosting facility and/or participant. Nurses earn 1.0 Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) contact hour for each session they attend.
For more information visit http://www.nursesheale.org 
A Provider's Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for LGBT Individuals: Training Curriculum
SAMHSA has developed the first training curriculum specifically designed to help both administrators and clinicians address the various aspects of providing effective substance abuse treatment to LGBT individuals. The curriculum contains 22 modules to address the specific training needs of a given organization. The training covers such topics as legal issues, the “coming out” process as it relates to behavioral health, how to make a provider organization more LGBT-welcoming, and modules providing specific clinical guidance for addressing the needs of each of the LGBT populations. The curriculum contains numerous experiential exercises; therefore, trainings are most effectively offered in-person.
For more information visit http://www.attcnetwork.org/regcenters/generalContent.asp?rcid=12&content=STCUSTOM3
Removing the Barriers (RTB)
Removing the Barriers (RTB) is a cultural competency training program for medical and human service providers focusing on access to care issues for women-who-partner-with-women, as well as health issues specific to this population. RTB training is available in various formats including: two-hour introductory workshop, four-hour core training, or a comprehensive, 6.5-hour training. RTB was developed by the Mautner Project through funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a second round of funding was granted for curriculum revisions and updates as well as to provide Training of Trainers programs to Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Programs. Continuing Medical Education credits are offered upon successful completion. Continuing education credits are also available to nurses, and social workers.
For more information visit http://www.whitman-walker.org/mautnerproject
