Turkish nurse educators knowledge regarding LGBT health and their level of homophobia: A descriptive-cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Attitudes toward LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual) individuals displayed by nurse educators, who aim to educate students with a philosophy of providing equal and high-quality care to all individuals, the necessity of knowledge regarding LGBT individuals, and the inclusion of the issues related to LGBT individuals into the nursing curriculum are gaining importance nowadays.

OBJECTIVES: 1. What levels of homophobia do the nurse educators have? 2. What are the knowledge requirements for nurse educators regarding the health issues encountered by LGBT individuals? 3. Are the topics related to LGBT individuals incorporated into the curriculum by the nurse educators, and what are the barriers encountered while including such topics in the education?

METHODS: In the present descriptive study - cross sectional, all the nurse educators teaching undergraduate nursing programs in 96 universities in Turkey, who were accessed using their e-mail addresses, constituted the study population (N = 996). The nurse educators who agreed to participate in the study (n = 61) comprised the study sample. Data were collected online, using questionnaire developed by researchers and the Homophobia Scale.

RESULTS: The present study revealed that a significant proportion of participants (59%, n = 36) require knowledge regarding the health requirements of the LGBT individuals, and a great majority of the participants (77%, n = 47) did not find content related to the healthcare issues of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) individuals in the education they delivered. Assessment of the homophobia scale demonstrated that high levels of homophobia existed among half of the nurse educators and that the homophobia levels did not vary with age, tenure, or title (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study demonstrated that there is a lack of knowledge regarding the health issues of the LGBT individuals among the nurse educators in Turkey, and little efforts are put to acquire this knowledge. The high levels of homophobia reported among half of the nurse educators surveyed demonstrated the necessity of reviewing the nursing curriculum in a country such as Turkey, where sensitivity is required to be displayed to the marginal groups.