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Cultivating confidence: improving LGBTQ+-focused sexual history training for medical students
Background Inclusive sexual history training in medical education is crucial for addressing the health needs of LGBTQ+ patients. Literature indicates many physicians feel inadequately trained on LGBTQ+ health needs, exacerbating healthcare disparities. This study evaluates the impact of a structured training program on medical students’ ability to take sexual histories from LGBTQ+ patients effectively.
Methods A two-hour educational session led by Dr. Shira Heisler, medical director of the Detroit Public Health STD clinic, was presented to 36 Wayne State University School of Medicine students. During this session, students learned how to take a comprehensive sexual history and practiced with peers via role-playing exercises. Participants were recruited via email and received volunteering credit for attendance. Data was collected through pre-session and post-session surveys using a 10-point Likert scale to measure students’ experiences, knowledge, and attitudes. These surveys were intended to highlight gaps in LGBTQ+ sexual history training and evaluate the session’s effectiveness.
Results Overall, there was a significant increase in students’ comfort interacting with LGBTQ+ patients post-session (p-value = 0.00019). Students’ rating of the importance of taking an LGBTQ+-inclusive sexual history also significantly increased post-session (p-value = 0.00066). First-year medical students demonstrated a statistically significant increase in comfort with taking a sexual history of patients who exclusively have sex with opposite-gender partners (p-value = 0.0015) as well as patients who have sex with partners of the same or multiple genders post-session (p-value = 0.00092), while second-year students did not demonstrate a significant difference post-session for either category.
Conclusion By addressing medical education gaps in LGBTQ+ health, this session aimed to improve LGBTQ+ community healthcare outcomes. The data collected suggests that attending inclusive sexual history-taking education sessions effectively improves students’ comfort with taking a sexual history for both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ patients. Ultimately, fostering an inclusive approach to sexual history-taking can contribute to more equitable healthcare.