Examination of LGBTQIA+-Inclusive Recommendations Issued by Professional Medical Associations Across Healthcare Fields

Abstract

LGBTQIA+ populations persistently experience discrimination and limited access to informed, quality, and patient-centered healthcare. The gap between population needs and provider competence can be attributed to the inadequate education of healthcare professionals, suggesting the need for educational reform not just within medical schools, but also in physician assistant, nursing, and emergency medical services programs. To create the most widespread change across all these programs, it is imperative that the leading, most influential professional medical associations (PMAs) in each field take steps to make LGBTQIA+-focused healthcare education a priority, provide actionable statements and plans, and encourage educational institutions to ardently take up their recommendations. This paper provides an overview of the recent statements, recommendations, and actions published by several of the leading PMAs across multiple healthcare professions. Through narrative and content analysis, these publications are evaluated for depth, quality, and actionability. From this evaluation, a call to action is made for the leading PMAs of each healthcare profession to actively engage in the educational reform required to begin eliminating these long-standing disparities to ultimately improve the experiences and health outcomes of individuals in LGBTQIA+ populations

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