Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum
Objectives: People marginalized based on their sexual and gender identity face specific health risks and experience barriers to culturally competent care. Insight into how Dutch medical schools address LGBTQI+ health-related learning objectives is scarce. We therefore examined how LGBTQI+ health iss...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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German Medical Science GMS Publishing House
2020-03-01
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| Series: | GMS Journal for Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2020-37/zma001315.shtml |
| _version_ | 1818109254074105856 |
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| author | Muntinga, Maaike Beuken, Juliëtte Gijs, Luk Verdonk, Petra |
| author_facet | Muntinga, Maaike Beuken, Juliëtte Gijs, Luk Verdonk, Petra |
| author_sort | Muntinga, Maaike |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: People marginalized based on their sexual and gender identity face specific health risks and experience barriers to culturally competent care. Insight into how Dutch medical schools address LGBTQI+ health-related learning objectives is scarce. We therefore examined how LGBTQI+ health issues are integrated in the Amsterdam UMC-VUmc medical curriculum by evaluating the year-two course ‘Sex, Sexuality and Relationships’ for LGBTQI+ content. Methods/Design: We examined written course content (course syllabus, lecture notes, and course literature) of the 2016-2017 course. We used a framework for essential LGBTQI+ content in medical education and an intersectional approach to examine which LGBTQI+ themes and subthemes were addressed.Results: Several essential LGBTQI+ health issues were adequately addressed and integrated into the Amsterdam UMC-VUmc curriculum, but we also identified curriculum gaps. The needs of patients with lesbian, bisexual, or gender non-conforming identities were marginally addressed, and issues related to intersections of minoritized sexual and gender identities with other aspects of diversity such as ethnicity, age and class remained unexplored. The course discussed gender and sexuality as fixed and mainly binary constructs, and only addressed biomedical explanatory models of sex, gender and sexuality. Discussion and conclusion: The absence of complex patient identities in relation to sex, gender and sexuality does not adequately prepare students to provide LGBTQI+ responsive care. If not designed and taught competently, LGBTQI+-related curriculum content may reproduce bias and stereotypes, and contribute to a medical climate where both LGBTQI+ patients, students, and doctors conceal their identities. Further implementation of LGBTQI+ health issues is required in (continuing) medical education to secure culturally competent clinical environments. Educational research is needed to understand how medical education contributes to marginalization of LGBTQI+ identities and thus, to health disparities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T02:28:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b263a17ea3194349ade648e6b5440510 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2366-5017 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T02:28:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | German Medical Science GMS Publishing House |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GMS Journal for Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-b263a17ea3194349ade648e6b54405102022-12-22T01:23:52ZdeuGerman Medical Science GMS Publishing HouseGMS Journal for Medical Education2366-50172020-03-01372Doc2210.3205/zma001315Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculumMuntinga, Maaike0Beuken, Juliëtte1Gijs, Luk2Verdonk, Petra3Amsterdam UMC-VUmc, School of Medical Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Department of Medical Humanities, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsAmsterdam UMC-VUmc, School of Medical Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Department of Medical Humanities, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsAmsterdam UMC-VUmc, Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsAmsterdam UMC-VUmc, School of Medical Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Department of Medical Humanities, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsObjectives: People marginalized based on their sexual and gender identity face specific health risks and experience barriers to culturally competent care. Insight into how Dutch medical schools address LGBTQI+ health-related learning objectives is scarce. We therefore examined how LGBTQI+ health issues are integrated in the Amsterdam UMC-VUmc medical curriculum by evaluating the year-two course ‘Sex, Sexuality and Relationships’ for LGBTQI+ content. Methods/Design: We examined written course content (course syllabus, lecture notes, and course literature) of the 2016-2017 course. We used a framework for essential LGBTQI+ content in medical education and an intersectional approach to examine which LGBTQI+ themes and subthemes were addressed.Results: Several essential LGBTQI+ health issues were adequately addressed and integrated into the Amsterdam UMC-VUmc curriculum, but we also identified curriculum gaps. The needs of patients with lesbian, bisexual, or gender non-conforming identities were marginally addressed, and issues related to intersections of minoritized sexual and gender identities with other aspects of diversity such as ethnicity, age and class remained unexplored. The course discussed gender and sexuality as fixed and mainly binary constructs, and only addressed biomedical explanatory models of sex, gender and sexuality. Discussion and conclusion: The absence of complex patient identities in relation to sex, gender and sexuality does not adequately prepare students to provide LGBTQI+ responsive care. If not designed and taught competently, LGBTQI+-related curriculum content may reproduce bias and stereotypes, and contribute to a medical climate where both LGBTQI+ patients, students, and doctors conceal their identities. Further implementation of LGBTQI+ health issues is required in (continuing) medical education to secure culturally competent clinical environments. Educational research is needed to understand how medical education contributes to marginalization of LGBTQI+ identities and thus, to health disparities.http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2020-37/zma001315.shtmllgbtqi+curriculum screeningmarginalized populationssexual and gender diversitymedical education |
| spellingShingle | Muntinga, Maaike Beuken, Juliëtte Gijs, Luk Verdonk, Petra Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum GMS Journal for Medical Education lgbtqi+ curriculum screening marginalized populations sexual and gender diversity medical education |
| title | Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum |
| title_full | Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum |
| title_fullStr | Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum |
| title_short | Are all LGBTQI+ patients white and male? Good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a Dutch medical curriculum |
| title_sort | are all lgbtqi patients white and male good practices and curriculum gaps in sexual and gender minority health issues in a dutch medical curriculum |
| topic | lgbtqi+ curriculum screening marginalized populations sexual and gender diversity medical education |
| url | http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2020-37/zma001315.shtml |
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