A Critical Intervention in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health: Knowledge and Attitude Outcomes Among Second-Year Medical Students

Abstract

Our simple curricular intervention led to significant short-term changes in a small number of survey items assessing students' knowledge and beliefs about LGBT persons.

Sexual and gender minority health in medical curricula in new England: a pilot study of medical student comfort, competence and perception of curricula

“…These findings are consistent with published data showing that gender minorities report limited provider cultural competency, frequent denial of needed healthcare services, and overt harassment in healthcare settings [1,3,4,20]. Similarly, individuals born with differences of sex development have distinct medical needs that are often inadequately addressed or addressed in a way that enforces a binary model of sex and gender, provoking lifelong psychological trauma [21–23], and/or physical sequelae [6,24]. Our findings suggest that enhanced provider training to competently and sensitively serve these particular populations is needed.…”

“…In particular, curricular development to prepare students for serving gender minority patients and patients born with a difference of sexual development appears to be needed desperately. Holistic integration of SGM content in the curriculum, exposure to SGM patients and exposure to SGM topics in clinic encounters increase knowledge of SGM health and positively impact attitudes toward SGM patients [24,26,28,29]. Educators may expedite and facilitate curricular development by accessing the numerous resources developed by the AAMC (including clinical vignettes and webinars) [30] and the expanding library of peer-reviewed instructional materials on the AAMC’s MedEd Portal [15].…”

“…These data provide a snapshot of learning outcomes in the New England region. As provider attitudes and behaviors toward SGM patients and medical students’ experiences related to SGM health issues may vary significantly by region, additional research is needed to evaluate curricular needs in different geographic regions [24,28,34–40]. Assessment of objective, rather than self-reported, learning outcomes will also be a critical component of future research in this area.…”

Specialty Choice Among Sexual and Gender Minorities in Medicine: The Role of Specialty Prestige, Perceived Inclusion, and Medical School Climate

“…[27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Anti-SM bias has been well documented among medical trainees and providers, 15,34,35 whereas contact with SGM (before or during medical education) consistently predicts reduced anti-SGM bias, greater comfort and willingness to serve SGM patients, and greater willingness to work with SGM colleagues. 34,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Conversely, medical trainees with less contact with SM are more likely to express anti-SM attitudes. 38,39 The representation and visibility of SGM across medicine may, therefore, represent a powerful means to reduce bias among non-SGM physicians, since contact with SGM predicts reductions in explicit and implicit anti-SGM bias, and contact between equals has been experimentally shown to decrease bias.…”

Shared Decision Making With Vulnerable Populations in the Emergency Department

“…A lack of provider awareness, paucity of health-related data, and lack of research regarding their healthcare needs all contribute to frequent negative experiences with the healthcare system, resulting in avoidance and mistrust of providers. [49][50][51][52][53] Lack of knowledge and/or experience treating these individuals could potentially translate to provider attitudes of disapproval or discomfort that impede or prevent attempts at using SDM. Additionally, inherent biases toward patients may impede information exchange, which may result in ignored evidence, preferences, or general information.…”