The THE EFFECT OF INTRODUCTION OF ‘LGBT HEALTHCARE’ CONTENT ON MEDICAL STUDENTS' KNOWLEDGE OF TRANSGENDER CARE

Abstract

Introduction: Transgender individuals represent 2% of the global population and face various barriers to accessing healthcare networks, primarily due to prejudice and shortcomings in the training of professionals who assist them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of introducing the theme of Sexual Diversity and supervision of care for transgender individuals, assessing the knowledge and confidence in approach to this care among medical students. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-analysis using a Google Forms® questionnaire, conducted from July 1 to December 31, 2023, with final-year medical students. Students who did not fully respond to the structured questionnaire were excluded. Descriptive data were analyzed using median and interquartile range, compared before and after the intervention using the Wilcoxon test with a significance level of 5%. The correlation between pre-discipline questionnaire responses was also evaluated using the Spearman correlation test. Results: Of the 89 students enrolled in the discipline, 66 students completed the questionnaire before the discipline, and 41 completed the questionnaire after the intervention. Participants had a mean age of 25.3 ± 1.9 years, self-identified as white, cisgender, and Christian. Before the intervention, 29 (46.0%) identified themselves as belonging to the LGBT+ community, 27 (42.9%) reported having contact with issues related to transgenderism in the curriculum. Twenty-six (41.3%) did not feel entirely comfortable asking about the use of social names and pronouns. One-third of students (33.3%) do not feel comfortable providing guidance to transgender patients. The use of social names was associated with prior contact with this subject in the curriculum or in extracurricular activities, especially prior contact with transgender patients. The presence of the subject in the curriculum was inversely correlated with the perception of the need to include this discussion in undergraduate studies. After the intervention, medical students improved knowledge about terminologies, confidence in using social names, including approach regarding their use, and in using appropriate pronouns with transgender patients. There was also increased contact with transgender patients during consultations (p <0.001) and greater confidence in providing health information to this population. Conclusion: Contact and experience with the topic of sexual diversity during undergraduate education can be an objective strategy that brings greater confidence to students regarding terminologies, approach, and specific care for the transgender population.