Awareness and attitude of undergraduate medical students to LGBY community: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background: The way that the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender (LGBT) community is understood has changed from an abnormal concept to a normal variant of sexuality. Despite this action, the Indian population still harbors a great deal of fear toward this community. The health of the LGBT community is further negatively affected by the high rates of stigma and discrimination they experience in medical facilities. As aspiring medical professionals, it's critical to understand medical students' awareness of and attitudes toward this community.

Aim: This study is to assess the Attitude, Awareness and Knowledge of medical students towards the LGBT community in Kerala.

Materials and methods: This was a cross sectional study done at a medical college in Kerala. Students from first year MBBS till internship were included in the study after approval by the institutional ethical committee. Informed consent was obtained from all participants after providing details of the conduct of the study and assurance of participant's confidentiality. Semi structured questionnaire and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale were circulated among the students.

Results: 380 students participated in the study. Majority were first years (35.3%) and were females (69.7%). Participants scored highest on the attitudinal awareness subscale and lowest on the clinical preparedness subscale.

Conclusion: Our study highlights the positive attitudes of medical students but also identifies their self-reported inadequacies in LGBT patient care-related clinical skills and preparedness.