Increasing Education and Awareness of Patients who Identify as Transgender in Primary Care​

Background. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and individuals who identify as transgender and queer (LGBTQ) often experience negative healthcare encounters (Parameshwaran et al., 2017). According to the Williams Institute of Law (2022), there are 1.3 million adults who self-identify as transgender. This education project utilized a pre/post-test design to explore attitudes, practices, and knowledge of primary care providers when interfacing with individuals who identify as transgender in primary health care settings. Theoretical Framework. This project was guided by Lewin’s Change Theory. Methods. Primary care providers in an urban community health clinic received a pre and post-education survey. A teaching session was delivered to the primary care providers to increase knowledge and awareness of treatment modalities needed to improve health care for this population. Results: Surveys were sent to 10 providers. Pre-test surveys were received from 100% of providers (n=10), and post-test surveys were received from 80% of providers (n=8). Post-test scores revealed substantial differences on some survey items. Participants on the post-test indicated a higher average agreement with the statement “I have sufficient training to provide primary care to patients who identify as transgender” compared to pre-test data (mean = 4.25; mean = 3.5, respectively). Implications for Practice. Future work in this area should include teaching and educational programs in the healthcare curriculum to increase the knowledge and awareness of primary care providers when interacting with individuals who identify as transgender

Why do Students not Major in MIS? An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

A McKinsey & Company report states that a gap in information technology skills remains in the U.S. and globally. Combined with continued projections for high growth in MIS positions such as Systems Analysts and Software Applications Developers, increasing student enrollment in MIS continues to be a focus for MIS academicians and professionals. Although studies addressing MIS enrollment issues abound, the manner in which relevant factors are collected is often not systematized. The current study uses established theory and instruments to examine student perceptions of majoring in MIS. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we employ an elicitation-based study uncovering beliefs about majoring in MIS. We subsequently use Partial Least Squares to analyze the importance of these beliefs in influencing intentions to major in MIS. The results lead to specific recommendations for improving MIS enrollments in the U.S. and international settings