Developing a Lesbian Health Research Program: Fenway Community Health Center’s Experience and Evolution

Abstract

The Fenway Community Health Center (FCHC) was founded in 1971 as part of the free clinic movement and rapidly developed expertise in caring for gay men, lesbians, elderly persons, and college students. With the advent of the AIDS epidemic, FCHC developed one of the largest panels of persons living with HIV in New England and, concomitant with the rise in the HIV+ census in the clinical practice, developed a research department to undertake cohort studies of men who have sex with men. Partnerships with academic medical centers and federal research agencies facilitated the conduct of large-scale therapeutic and prevention interventions. FCHC also developed a wide array of programs for lesbians: comprehensive primary care including the provision of gynecological services and alternative insemination, individual and group counselling, and programs designed to address substance use, domestic violence, and post-traumatic stress syndromes. The increasing utilization of these services raised many questions for providers about how to understand lesbians’ health across the life continuum. To develop a research infrastructure for lesbian health and mental health research, FCHC established a multidisciplinary task force and has held two annual research forums to attract researchers and to engage the wider community. Four working groups are in the process of securing federal funding to support a robust lesbian health research effort.