Nursing is built around support and advocacy regarding patients and their interests. However, not every group of people can expect the same level of assistance, as there are individuals who are highly marginalized within healthcare systems. One such group includes LGBTQIA people, whose issues are still largely ignored within many healthcare systems around the world, and the amount of research regarding their health is insufficient (Nhamo‐Murire & Macleod, 2018). According to Kilicaslan and Petrakis (2019), there are multiple ways in which homophobia, heterosexism, and heteronormativity can be manifested. These may include “unconscious assumptions that colleagues and patients are heterosexual and/or cisgender, overt exclusion, bullying and abuse, and neglecting to discuss and provide culturally responsive care” (Kilicaslan and Petrakis, 2019, p. 614). This attitude results in LGBTQIA people’s discrimination and invisibility within healthcare systems strengthens the desire to hide their sexuality, increases reluctance to seek medical attention, and further locks the healthcare system into heteronormativity.
All of the mentioned issues directly and negatively affect customer and employee satisfaction, trust between customers and nurses, quality of delivered care, and the nursing profession in general. Various tools can help nurses and healthcare professionals improve the situation regarding LGBTQIA patients and employees. Firstly, the staff needs to be appropriately trained within their universities and workplaces to understand LGBTQIA patients and colleagues better and increase their competencies in working with this group’s unique issues. Secondly, nurses and other healthcare professionals should advocate for systemic changes within their healthcare organizations to increase inclusivity. Those changes may include acknowledging gender identity and preferred pronouns, a departure from the traditional marital status record, perception of the partner only as an opposite-sex person, gendered bathrooms, and other attributes of hetero- and cisnormativity.
References
Kilicaslan, J., & Petrakis, M. (2019) Heteronormative models of healthcare delivery: Investigating staff knowledge and confidence to meet the needs of LGBTIQ+ people. Social Work in Health Care, 58(6), 612-632.
Nhamo‐Murire, M., & Macleod, C. I. (2018). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people’s experiences of nursing health care: An emancipatory nursing practice integrative review. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(1).