Nursing students’ attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities : A literature review

Abstract

Sexual and gender minorities have unique health disparities when compared to others. These adverse health outcomes are due to a minority stress created by discrimination, prejudice and stigmatization within the cultures of these marginalized groups. The gender and heteronormativity beneath the societies along with the health care systems around the world nourish the discrimination against sexual and gender minorities. Nurses as health care professionals participating extensively in the care of patients can have a significant impact on the care provided. Especially prejudiced attitudes can transfer negatively to the care provided for sexual and gender minorities.

The aim of this study was to explore nursing students’ attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities. The purpose was to enhance the understanding of the existing attitudes as well as enhance the acknowledgement of different perspectives. The aim was to provide information that could be used to assess the current nursing curriculum from the perspective of permissive education and to support culturally competent care of sexual and gender minorities.

The study was executed as a literature review. The data search was conducted in the following two databases: JYKDOK and Cinahl. Four papers were chosen to be included in the review. The data analysis resulted in three main findings: permissive, intolerant and cultural attitudes. Nursing students were found to have rather negative attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities although a change to a more positive direction could be seen in the recent studies. The results of the review highlighted the need for further studies that would assess the current nursing curriculum and culturally sensitive education in order to enhance cultural competency among nursing students.