Insufficient LGBTQ+ education across disciplines suggested by national survey of health professionals in training

by Lexie Wille, Tess Jewell, Atticus Wolfe, Emily Peterson, Aileen Shaughnessy, Cole Roblee, Alex Strader

Health professionals often feel underprepared to treat patients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+). Additionally, lack of access to professionals who are knowledgeable about LGBTQ+ inclusive care contributes to the myriad of health disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ communities. This cross-sectional survey study explores the preparedness of healthcare profession trainees for caring for LGBTQ+ patients by quantifying the hours and quality of training health profession trainees receive in LGBTQ+ education across disciplines. We surveyed US-based health professionals in training (HPiT) across disciplines (N = 155) on their training programs’ LGBTQ+-specific curricula and educational opportunities. Ordered logistic regression analysis assessed the relationship between the number of hours of LGBTQ+-specific education and other discipline, organization, and individual factors. Respondents reported an average of 4.75 (SD = 3.04) hours devoted to LGBTQ+-specific education. Physician assistant trainees reported receiving the highest number of hours of LGBTQ+-specific education (M = 6.63, SD = 1.98), followed by psychology (M = 5.30, SD = 3.54), medical (M = 5.12, SD = 3.38), nursing (M = 4.17, SD = 3.28), and trainees in other health fields (M = 3.88, SD = 2.47). Across all disciplines, trainees rated their LGBTQ+-specific education on average as “good”. Despite rising awareness, the quantity and quality of dedicated LGBTQ+-specific education remains concerningly low across all measured disciplines and US regions. Future research must investigate strategies to overcome common barriers to increasing LGBTQ+ education in health professions training by maximizing the impact of limited hours through integrating LGBTQ+ content into existing materials, supporting trainee leadership, and implementing institutional support for educators teaching LGBTQ+ content. Regulatory bodies must reconsider the current guidance for LGBTQ+ education quantity and quality to advise institutions on best-practice guidelines to prepare trainees for LGBTQ+ patient care.