Addressing the Lack of Clinical Knowledge in Managing LGBT+ Patients in a Safety Net Primary Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project
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Authors
Vang, Kristina
Issue Date
2023-05-13
Volume
Issue
Type
Manuscript
Language
Keywords
LGBT , Provider Education , Gaps in Care
Alternative Title
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement and evaluate a clinical care protocol specific to caring for the LGBT+ population presenting in this safety net primary care setting.
Background: There is a lack of clinical knowledge in managing LGBT+ patients with a number of health disparities within the LGBT+ population including depression, anxiety, increased suicide attempt rates, alcohol consumption, STIs, and cancers. Significant health issues within this community are not prevented or identified early, leading to a decreased health status and poor healthcare outcomes.
Methods: The sample includes providers and students at a safety net primary care clinic located in Omaha, Nebraska. The framework that will be implemented for this will be the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model. This project will implement a pre-test-post-test design to measure the impact of the education intervention. As such, the study of the intervention will include an evaluation administered to the participants immediately before and after the introduction of the education intervention. The pre- and post-test will seek to measure baseline knowledge of the LGBT+ community, unique health disparities and social determinants of health, and provider attitudes. Further LGBT+ education handouts and community resources will be provided to the facility as well for provider reference to guide future care.
Results: After educational intervention, the post-test results were higher across all three categories for every participant. Students scored the same or higher than the providers on both the pre- and post-tests. Students reported more prior LGBT+ education/training than the providers. There was not any large discrepancies between MD and DNP test scores
Conclusion: LGBT+ clinical education has shown to improve provider knowledge on the LGBT+ community, LGBT+ health disparities, and improve provider attitudes. Students within the Generation Z and Millennial generations may have more overall exposure to the LGBT+ community as it grows in numbers and visibility. Future education programs may need to be tailored to fill in the gaps in LGBT+ education for older providers.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Creighton University
License
Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University