VIDEO: LGBTQI+ health curriculum improves knowledge, comfort among medical students

Despite calls to action, one-third of medical schools still do not offer programs on LGBTQI+ health care, and most educators do not feel prepared to provide such education, according to researchers.

Hayley K. Rogers, MD, resident physician at George Washington University, and colleagues created the Allies in Medicine program to fill gaps in knowledge of LGBTQI+ health.

The researchers conducted a study to investigate the impact of the 2-hour curriculum. They recruited medical students from the University of Texas Medical Branch to participate in the program. The volunteers represented multiple disciplines, including physicians, physician assistants, nurses, biomedical scientists, physical therapists and occupational therapists.

After the curriculum, Rogers and colleagues observed significant improvements in knowledge and comfort levels among the participants regarding LGBTQI+ health care.

“Sometimes we forget now that LGBT and same-sex marriage is legal across all 50 states [and] that they still experience discrimination within health care,” Rogers told Healio Primary Care. “It’s really important that physicians educate themselves on these disparities and how they can improve the lives of their LGBTQI+ patients.”

The study was scheduled to be presented at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting, which was canceled because of COVID-19. It is among the winners of ACP’s 2020 National Abstract Competition.