Communicating With School Nurses About Sexual Orientation and Sexual Health

Abstract

Black and Latino young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are at disproportionate risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. This study informs school-centered strategies for connecting YMSM to health services by describing their willingness, perceived safety, and experiences in talking to school staff about sexual health. Cross-sectional data were collected from black and Latino YMSM ages 13–19 through Web-based questionnaires (n=415) and interviews (n=32). School nurses were the staff members youth most often reported willingness to talk to about HIV testing (37.8%), STD testing (37.1%), or condoms (37.3%), but least often reported as safe to talk to about attraction to other guys (11.4%). Interviews revealed youth reluctance to talk with school staff including nurses when uncertain of staff members’ perceptions of LGBTQ people or perceiving staff to lack knowledge of LGBTQ issues, communities, or resources. Nurses may need additional training to effectively reach black and Latino YMSM.

Substance Use and School Characteristics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual High School Students

“…School nurses have the potential to play an important role as a trusted adult knowledgeable about health risk factors. However, in a study of racial and ethnic men who have sex with men, participants reported feeling comfortable discussing sex with school nurses, but not their same sex attraction . School nurses should adopt best practices to promote their care as LGBT‐affirming, such as posting a nondiscrimination policy, displaying LGBT symbols (eg, rainbow flag), and tailoring intake forms (eg, adding gender identities beyond male and female)…”

“…However, in a study of racial and ethnic men who have sex with men, participants reported feeling comfortable discussing sex with school nurses, but not their same sex attraction. 24 School nurses should adopt best practices to promote their care as LGBT-affirming, such as posting a nondiscrimination policy, displaying…”

School‐Based HIV/STD Testing Behaviors and Motivations Among Black and Hispanic Teen MSM: Results From a Formative Evaluation

“…In this article, we specifically focus on measures related to HIV and STD testing including demographics, sexual orientation, HIV/STD testing in the past year, testing venues, reasons youth would likely get tested, willingness to use school‐based sexual health services, and youth preferences for how sexual health services should be provided in schools. Other aspects of the data collection are reported in elsewhere …”

“…More specifically, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that MSM are tested for HIV and other STDs at least annually. 7,8 To address the needs of teen black and Hispanic YMSM as they begin engaging in sexual risk behaviors, the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health is developing a school-centered project for YMSM aged [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Because the majority of high-school aged youth have not begun engaging in sexual activity, 9 YMSM is defined broadly for this project to include: males who have engaged in same-sex sexual activity as well as those who may not have engaged in same-sex sexual activity, but who identify as gay or bisexual, or who report attraction to other males.…”

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people's experiences of nursing health care: An emancipatory nursing practice integrative review

“…Slater et al (2015) To determine predictors of homonegativity, internalized HIV stigma, and ageism and stigma experience that were predictive of quality of life setting appointments to see a doctor and a large private hospital denied in vitro fertilisation/donor insemination (IVF/DI) to lesbian couples. However, the situation was later rectified after the couple concerned threatened potential legal action (Chapman, Wardrop, Freeman, et al, 2012).In the United States, black and Latino young men who have sex with men revealed a reluctance to talk to nursing staff when they were uncertain of the staff members' perceptions of LGB people or when they perceived that staff lacked knowledge of LGB issues (Rasberry et al, 2015).…”