Bringing smoking out of the closet – Meeting the smoking cessation needs of the LGBT community in Manchester
| Author(s)
Andrew Gilliver
| | Presenter(s) |
Andrew Gilliver Community Involvement Manager, LGBT Foundation, Manchester |
Melody Holt Tobacco Control Project Manager, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Liverpool | Abstract LGBT Cancer Support Alliance is a cross-cutting group of health care professionals, patient/carer representatives and representatives from third sector organisations. The aim of the group is to come together to support and improve services for LGBT individuals affected by Cancer in Greater Manchester & Merseyside, and to lead on the development of patient information resources, campaigns and collate research in this area. For 2015, the group will be focusing on lung cancer and smoking cessation.
Higher than average smoking prevalence and health inequalities are evident amongst the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities; as such there is an increasing focus on ensuring that services are engaging and meeting the health needs of this population. LGBT people are at an increased risk of smoking related illnesses, including cancer - but are services and campaigns effective at providing support and information to this community?
LGBT Cancer Support Alliance recognises the need to address these issues and our forthcoming conference in Manchester on 14 August 2015 - ‘Bringing smoking out of the closet’ - will spotlight these health inequality and smoking prevalence issues, and encourage health care professionals to offer specific and tailored support to LGBT people when offering stop smoking interventions.
| Presenter biography Andrew Gilliver is Community Involvement Manager at LGBT Foundation in Manchester. He joined The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (now LGBT Foundation) in 2000 as a Sexual Health Outreach Worker. He went on to be the organisations Communications Manager and is now involved with other colleagues on a programme of external engagement, disseminating the organisations key campaigns. His current work involves managing a team of Community Leaders to represent in their local community enabling lesbian, gay and bisexual people to have their voices heard around health and social care issues and the overall needs of LGB&T communities met across Greater Manchester.
Melody Holt is Tobacco Control Project Manager within the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.
As co-founder of Roy Castle Fag Ends community stop smoking service in 1994, Melody was able to lead the project into becoming one of the first of 10 services launched with Health Action Zone funding following the publication of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998.
Having worked for the charity for almost 20 years, Melody feels passionate about giving help and hope to those affected by lung cancer and to help put lung cancer in history books – where it belongs.
| Source of funding: Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and LGBT Cancer Support Alliance
| Declaration of interest: None
| | |
|
