Promoting the Health of Gender and Sexual Minorities
Course #71794 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
The gender and sexual minority (GSM) population is a diverse group that can be defined as a subculture. It includes homosexual men, lesbian women, bisexual persons, transgender individuals, and those questioning their sexual identity, among others. While assessment of the subculture and identification of culturally competent health promotion strategies have been delayed for many reasons, the health promotion needs of GSM individuals of various ages are appearing with more frequency in professional literature. Borrowing from the discipline of counseling, use of four crosscultural communication skill areas may be used to promote intercultural communication when working with members of other cultures. Use of these skill areas becomes a framework for identifying strategies that members of the interdisciplinary team may use to promote cultural competency when interacting with GSM individuals.
This course is designed for all behavioral health professionals working in all practice settings.
More individuals who identify as gender and sexual minorities and their families want culturally appropriate information as well as support and referral. The purpose of this course is to provide behavioral health professionals with strategies that promote cultural competency when treating and caring for these patients, supporting the concept of patient-centered care.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Define multiple terms related to the concept of sexual identity.
- Define heterosexism and homophobia and identify how they may be barriers to increasing professional awareness of gender and sexual minorities (GSM).
- Summarize myths related to the GSM population.
- Describe research challenges related to the GSM population.
- Describe select theoretical models related to the development of one's sexual identity (the "coming-out" process).
- Cite unique health and safety concerns experienced by the GSM population and available resources that healthcare professionals can provide to these patients and their families.
- Identify culturally appropriate strategies useful for implementing skills, including the application of crosscultural communication.
Leslie Bakker, RN, MSN, is an Associate Professor of Nursing at West Virginia State University Technical and Community College in Institute, West Virginia. She earned her BSN from Florida State University and her Master's from West Virginia University with an emphasis on primary healthcare. Professor Bakker's 43 years of nursing experiences have included hospital nursing in the United States and northern Europe, community health nursing, home health nursing, nursing education and community health activism. With a focus on transcultural nursing, she served as international student advisor for many years. She has designed and delivered diversity education programming for law enforcement personnel. Before retiring, her practice included health promotion activities for the gay community with an emphasis on gay youth. She has presented at several local and regional health professional conferences, and has published in professional nursing journals.
Contributing faculty, Leslie Bakker, RN, MSN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW
Margaret Donohue, PhD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.