Physiotherapy students’ education on, exposure to, and attitudes and beliefs about providing care for LGBTQIA+ patients: a cross-sectional study in the UK

Journal article

Brenner, N., Ross, M., McLachlan, E., McKinnon, R., Moulton, L. and Hammond, J. 2022. Physiotherapy students’ education on, exposure to, and attitudes and beliefs about providing care for LGBTQIA+ patients: a cross-sectional study in the UK. European Journal of Physiotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/21679169.2022.2080252
AuthorsBrenner, N., Ross, M., McLachlan, E., McKinnon, R., Moulton, L. and Hammond, J.
Abstract

Background:

Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or related identities (LGBTQIA+) experience barriers when accessing healthcare, including physiotherapy. Little is known about physiotherapy students’ attitudes and beliefs about caring for LGBTQIA+ individuals and what education is provided.

Purpose:

This study aims to identify the attitudes, knowledge and practice of physiotherapy students when caring for LGBTQIA+ patients in the UK.

Methods:

A cross-sectional online survey of physiotherapy students. Independent sample t-tests and an analysis of variance were carried out to analyse between-group differences in heteronormativity scores (modified heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (HABS)) and respondents’ attitudes and beliefs about caring for LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Results:

107 eligible participants completed the questionnaire with 23% identifying as LGBTQIA+ and 41% indicating close personal exposure to LGBTQIA+ people. Clinical placement experience and experience working with LGBTQIA+ people in other professional roles was reported by 16%, 27% respectively. Educational exposure (with a mean (standard deviation (SD)) of 2.7 (2.9) h) to the LGBTQIA+ community was reported by 17% of participants. The overall mean (SD) modified-HABS score was 2.65 (1.20). Participants with greater personal and informal educational exposure to LGBTQIA+ topics demonstrated less heteronormative attitudes and beliefs, greater awareness and more inclusive attitudes towards caring for LGBTQIA+ individuals compared to those without.

Conclusion:

Physiotherapy students have generally positive attitudes towards providing care for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Education is inconsistent and physiotherapy students lack awareness of LGBTQIA+ specific healthcare needs. These findings suggest that more focus is needed on LGBTQIA+ healthcare within physiotherapy education.

KeywordsPhysiotherapy ; Healthcare students; Higher education; LGBTQIA+; Heteronormativity
Year2022
JournalEuropean Journal of Physiotherapy
PublisherTaylor & Francis
ISSN2167-9169
2167-9177
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/21679169.2022.2080252
Official URLhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21679169.2022.2080252
Publication dates
Online27 May 2022
Publication process dates
Accepted12 May 2022
Deposited11 Jul 2024
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
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License: CC BY-NC-ND
File access level: Open

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