Improving Culturally Competent LGBTQ+ Care Among Primary Care Providers

Purpose: Although general efforts have been made to identify, address, and improve the standing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) community, many of these individuals continue to experience stigmatization and discrimination daily. These experiences influence the health of these individuals, which leads to several health disparities including an increased risk for numerous physical and mental health conditions. Methods: Using nationally developed guidelines, the author of this project developed two didactic-style educational presentations for primary care providers to improve cultural competency for LGBTQ+ individuals. Eight providers completed both presentations, which explored the attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs/practice intentions of each participant. Three questionnaires/assessments were given immediately before the first presentation and immediately after the second presentation four weeks later. Results: Of the four subcategories (attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, and practice intentions) used to define provider’s cultural competence, primary care provider attitudes were noted to improve when comparing the pre-intervention mean to the post-intervention mean. However, in two surveys used to evaluate provider knowledge and beliefs/practice intentions as it relates to the LGBTQ+ community, a small decrease was observed when comparing the pre-intervention means to the post-intervention means. Conclusion: Didactic-style educational presentations focused on LGBTQ+ cultural competency provides one approach to educating primary care providers to better the access and quality of health care for LGBTQ+ individuals.