Grand Rapids consortium launches youth sexual health toolkit addressing care gaps

The Grand Rapids LGBTQ+ Healthcare Consortium has launched a new Adolescent and Youth Sexual Health toolkit designed to help young people, families, and health care providers access clear, evidence-based information.

The consortium, founded in 2020, is a network of health care providers and public-health–focused partners working to improve access to care and trusted information for LGBTQ+ people across West Michigan and beyond.

The toolkit offers evidence-based guidance on sexual health, covering consent, personal safety, harm reduction, LGBTQ+-affirming care, and key legal considerations, while supporting honest conversations among youth, parents, or caregivers and clinicians about topics that are often avoided.

Each section provides clear, practical information tailored to its audience, including best practices and links to references and additional reputable resources, with a focus on support, affirmation, and usefulness.

“In our current climate, where online misinformation about health care, especially something like sexual health, is being spread loudly and deliberately on social media spaces, the Grand Rapids LGBTQ+ Healthcare Consortium is committed to truth, community safety, and leveraging evidence-based tools that seek to produce the bestresults in health care for our queer community,” says Jennie Knight, executive director of the consortium.

Dr. Christopher Palazzo, a board-certified family medicine physician affiliated with Corewell Health’s Campustowne location in Allendale, praises the toolkit as a bridge for everyone, from families to area health providers.

“Sexual health is something that is not talked about enough, and (as a result) there are significant gaps in education on this topic,” Palazzo says. “This toolkit empowers adolescents to make healthy decisions when it comes to sexual health and helps to connect people to answers, thus removing the stigma of asking questions. Having a toolkit that is user-friendly and easy to understand enables adolescents to learn about their bodies and relationships in a safe and affirming way … and on their timetable.”

Rapid Growth caught up with Knight to learn more about the efforts to create this new resource.

Rapid Growth: The Grand Rapids LGBTQ+ Healthcare Consortium has launched the Adolescent and Youth Sexual Health Toolkit, designed as a centralized online hub for young people, caregivers, and health care providers seeking reliable sexual health information. What gap in sexual health education or access did the consortium hope to address with this new toolkit?  

Jennie Knight: The majority of sexual health education offered to youth (individuals up to the age of 20) has little to no information regarding gender identity, sexual orientation, how to talk about sex with your partner/parent/providers/etc., and shares little to no information on how to be safe when engaging in sex, or how this impacts all areas of your health.  Often, health care providers only ask vague questions and make a lot of assumptions about a person’s sex life, including youth.  Research shows that the more accurate, evidence-based health information people have, the safer they can be regarding their health, including sexual health, and the more likely they are to talk to trusted people about this.  

RG: Consortium leaders say the toolkit arrives at a time when misinformation about health care and sexual health is spreading widely online, creating confusion for families and young people. How does the toolkit help counter misinformation while building trust in evidence-based sexual health guidance?  

JK: The toolkit provides clear, evidence-based guidance individuals can trust.  It brings together research-driven, judgment-free, and developmentally appropriate information that has been relied on for decades.  It grounds recommendations in science and names the realities youth face without shame or stigma.  By including resources for the caregivers/parents and health care team, we are ensuring these adults can share consistent, fact-based information.  When everyone involved is referencing the same trusted and science-based information, it replaces confusion with clarity and supports a safer and healthier decision-making process. There are decades of research showing this is effective and improves health and outcomes.  

RG: Research cited by the consortium shows that 50–80% of sexual health histories in patient charts are left incomplete, limiting providers’ ability to support adolescents effectively. Why do these conversations often go unaddressed, and how can this toolkit help normalize discussions between youth, caregivers, and clinicians? 

JK: Many sexual health conversations go unaddressed simply because providers aren’t taught how to have them. Most health care staff receive little to no training on taking a comprehensive sexual health history, and that lack of preparation is compounded by the stigma and discomfort that still surround talking about sex. When clinicians feel unsure of what to ask—or worry about offending patients — they often avoid the topic altogether. As a result, young people aren’t asked about their partners, their behaviors, or their risks, and providers miss critical opportunities to keep them safe.

We see the impact of this silence in Michigan. The majority of people newly diagnosed with HIV identify as heterosexual, and most report that no provider had ever asked about their sexual behaviors or told them about PrEP, a medication that can prevent HIV. When essential conversations don’t happen, adolescents and families are left without the information they need to make informed decisions about their health.

The Adolescent Sexual Health Toolkit helps break this pattern by giving youth, caregivers, and clinicians a shared, evidence‑based foundation for these discussions. It explains why sexual health questions matter, offers language that feels respectful and accessible, and normalizes these conversations as a routine part of care — not something to be whispered about or avoided. When everyone understands the purpose behind the questions and has clear, research‑driven information to guide them, it becomes easier to talk openly, build trust, and support adolescents in making informed, confident choices about their health.

RG: The toolkit is organized into three distinct pathways, including youth and adolescents, parents and caregivers, and health care teams, with each offering tailored guidance and resources. How does separating the toolkit by audience improve accessibility and encourage more meaningful engagement with sexual health information?  

JK: Separating the toolkit into three pathways makes the information easier to navigate and far less overwhelming.  Young people, caregivers, and health care teams all come to sexual health conversations with different needs, different levels of comfort, and different questions.  By organizing the toolkit by audience, we are able to tailor the guidance, language, and resources so each group can quickly find what’s most relevant to them without having to sift through pages of material that may not apply to their role.  At the same time, we have been intentional about keeping these doors open.  On the website, each audience is represented by a virtual “door,” but none are locked. Anyone can enter any door; they simply act as cues that help users understand what kind of information they will find in each room.

This reduces confusion, supports different learning styles, and encourages people to explore at their own pace.  By making the toolkit intuitive and audience-specific – while still fully transparent – we create space where youth, caregivers, and the health care team can engage more meaningfully with sexual health information.  It normalizes the conversation by giving everyone a clear starting point and a shared, accessible tool they can move through – together.  

RG: Health care providers involved in the project describe the toolkit as a bridge connecting families, young people, and medical professionals while reducing stigma around sexual health conversations. What long-term impact does the consortium hope this resource will have on LGBTQ+ youth health outcomes and community care in West Michigan?  

JK: The consortium’s long‑term hope is simple and shared by every parent, caregiver, and provider: we want young people to grow up healthy, safe, and supported. The Adolescent Sexual Health Toolkit is one more resource to help make that possible. We know that telling youth what not to do, relying on scare tactics, or wrapping sexual health in shame does not prevent risk. What does work is giving young people clear, evidence‑based information and trusted adults who are willing to talk with them openly.  We see this in the data. Teen pregnancy rates in Michigan have dropped significantly over the past decade as access to education and effective birth control has improved. 

At the same time, rates of STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhea remain high among youth under 25, with reinfection rates showing that many young people still don’t have the tools they need to protect themselves. When we provide youth with accurate information, practical skills, and supportive adults, they make safer choices. When we don’t, they turn to peers, media, and the internet — sources that are often incomplete or misleading. 

The toolkit is designed to change that pattern. By giving youth, caregivers, and clinicians a shared, science‑driven foundation, it helps normalize conversations that have too often been avoided. It offers language that reduces stigma, guidance that respects young people’s autonomy, and resources that help adults show up as non‑judgmental partners in a young person’s health journey. 

Over time, we hope this leads to earlier prevention, fewer missed opportunities in clinical settings, and stronger relationships between LGBTQ+ youth, their families, and their health care teams.

Ultimately, evidence‑based information keeps communities healthy — and healthy communities are communities where young people can thrive. That’s the future we’re working toward in West Michigan.