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

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.