At AcuGlow Acupuncture Clinic, we practice inclusive care and strive to make the space a safe, open, judgement free one.
The purpose of this article is to explain a little bit about gender inclusive care and weight inclusive care.
Gender inclusive care:
On the clinic intake forms, people can state their gender identity and preferred pronouns.
It is also my aim to make all current and future website and social media copy gender inclusive.*~
Why is gender inclusivity so important?
Our non-binary and trans community members are deserving of dignity, recognition, and inclusion. This is important everywhere, but especially so in healthcare.
Examples of inclusive language on the AcuGlow website include listing women’s health/uterine health instead of ‘women’s health’: This acknowledges that not all people who have uteruses identify as women. The term ‘women’s health’ alongside uterine health has been retained at this time for extra clarity.
Examples of inclusive language on our AcuGlow website and social media include the terms ‘pregnant person’ and ‘person with PCOS’. This is the best practice, and will be adopted by other institutions in time. It is important to note that the aim of using these terms is to include everyone.
*Older blog posts written before I was aware of how important this is are not gender inclusive.
~When referring to research papers on endometriosis or menopause for example, it is necessary to say women, as the studies have only recruited cis women. This may change with future studies.
Weight inclusive care:
I am a HAESⓇ(Health at Every SizeⓇ) aligned practitioner. The HAES approach promotes balanced eating, life-enhancing physical activity, and respect for the diversity of body shapes and sizes.
The 5 principles of Health at Every SizeⓇ are as follows:
- Weight Inclusivity
Accept and respect the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and reject the idealising or pathologising of specific weights. - Health Enhancement
Support health policies that improve and equalise access to information and services, and personal practices that improve human well-being, including attention to individual physical, economic, social, spiritual, emotional, and other needs. - Respectful Care
Acknowledge our biases, and work to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias. Provide information and services from an understanding that socio-economic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and other identities impact weight stigma, and support environments that address these inequities. - Eating for Well-being
Promote flexible, individualised eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control. - Life-enhancing Movement
Support physical activities that allow people of all sizes, abilities, and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose.
Learn more about weight inclusivity and intuitive eating:
- NoWeigh(Dr. Asher Larmie): https://www.noweigh.org/
- Association for Size Diversity and Health: https://asdah.org/health-at-every-size-haes-approach/
- Introduction to intuitive eating: https://www.intuitiveeating.org/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating/
- HAES Health Sheets: https://haeshealthsheets.com/
At the clinic, we will continue to strive for the best, most inclusive care. If you have any questions about gender inclusive care or weight inclusive care, please get in contact.
