Gynecology Oncology Ambulatory Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Cancer Educ. 2023 Aug;38(4):1163-1169. doi: 10.1007/s13187-022-02244-x. Epub 2022 Dec 1.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and two-spirited, plus (LGBTQ2 +) community experiences cancer-related health disparities and inequities. Our objective was to assess LGBTQ2 + knowledge, attitudes, practices and education interest of healthcare professionals (HCPs), identify opportunities to improve care and inform the development of an HCP education curriculum. This was a mixed methods quality improvement study conducted within a tertiary academic cancer centre. An email was sent to all gynaecologic oncology disease site staff (n = 92) with a secure link to an online survey. We measured respondents' sociodemographic characteristics and LGBTQ2 + knowledge, attitudes, practice behaviours and education interest. Open comments explored HCP experiences and reservations caring for LGBTQ2 + patients and suggestions to improve care. Seventy-five out of ninety-two (82%) HCPs completed the survey, with 7% identifying as LGBTQ2 + . HCPs reported feeling less comfortable (88% vs. 80%, p = 0.031) and knowledgeable (44% vs. 27%, p < 0.001) caring for transgender patients compared to LGBQ2 + patients. Most (76%) were unaware whether LGBTQ2 + -specific patient educational materials existed within their institution. Almost all (92% strongly agreed/agreed) were interested in receiving LGBTQ2 + -specific education. Two themes emerged from analysis of open comments: (i) HCPs are concerned of offending LGBTQ2 + individuals because of their lack of knowledge and (ii) HCPs desire LGBTQ2 + -specific health training, specifically in asking pronouns and caring for transgender patients. HCPs report competency gaps in caring for LGBTQ2 + patients with cancer but desire education. In response, we recommend institutions develop an educational curriculum for HCPs improve communication and inclusivity in cancer care.
女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别、酷儿/疑问者和双性人（LGBTQ2+）群体在癌症相关的健康方面存在差异和不平等。我们的目标是评估医疗保健专业人员（HCP）对 LGBTQ2+的知识、态度、实践和教育兴趣，确定改善护理的机会，并为 HCP 教育课程的开发提供信息。这是一项在三级学术癌症中心内进行的混合方法质量改进研究。向所有妇科肿瘤疾病部位工作人员（n=92）发送了一封电子邮件，并附有一个在线调查的安全链接。我们测量了受访者的社会人口特征以及 LGBTQ2+的知识、态度、实践行为和教育兴趣。开放评论探讨了 HCP 照顾 LGBTQ2+患者的经验和保留意见，并提出了改善护理的建议。92 名 HCP 中有 75 名完成了调查，其中 7%的人认为自己是 LGBTQ2+。HCP 报告说，与 LGBQ2+患者相比，他们在照顾跨性别患者时感到不那么自在（88%比 80%，p=0.031）和知识渊博（44%比 27%，p<0.001）。大多数（76%）不知道他们所在机构是否存在 LGBTQ2+特定的患者教育材料。几乎所有（92%强烈同意/同意）都有兴趣接受 LGBTQ2+特定的教育。对开放评论的分析得出了两个主题：（i）HCP 担心由于缺乏知识而冒犯 LGBTQ2+个人；（ii）HCP 希望接受 LGBTQ2+特定的健康培训，特别是在询问代词和照顾跨性别患者方面。HCP 报告在照顾患有癌症的 LGBTQ2+患者方面存在能力差距，但渴望接受教育。作为回应，我们建议各机构为 HCP 制定教育课程，以改善癌症护理中的沟通和包容性。
