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Working With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients: Occupational Therapy Practitioners' Knowledge, Skills,
Deborah J Bolding1, Angela Acosta2, Brigitte Butler3
1Deborah J. Bolding, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, San José State University, San José, CA; deborah.bolding@sjsu.edu.
Importance:
A lack of health care provider knowledge and training has been identified as one factor that contributes to health disparities for sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations.
Objective:
To explore occupational therapy practitioners' self-reported knowledge about, clinical preparedness for, and attitudes toward working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clients.
Design:
Online survey of occupational therapy practitioners.
Participants And Setting:
Respondents were recruited by means of snowball sampling through social media groups, state occupational therapy association websites, and emails. Surveys were posted to electronic occupational therapy social media sites.
Measures:
Knowledge, clinical preparedness, and attitudes were measured using the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS). Information about demographic characteristics, education, and workplace was also collected.
Results:
Five hundred eighty-nine occupational therapy practitioners responded to the survey. Degree level (master's vs. bachelor's or less), continuing education (minimum 1-2 hr of LGBT-specific training), practice setting (mental health), minority sexual orientation, and having a close friend or family member who identifies as SGM were associated with higher mean scores on the LGBT-DOCSS. Higher religiosity and frequency of religious practice were associated with lower scores on knowledge and attitudinal awareness.
Conclusions And Relevance:
Occupational therapy practitioners often care for clients from backgrounds and cultures that differ from their own. Identifying gaps in education and opportunities for fostering LGBT-positive attitudes can facilitate the development of programs to improve practice with LGBT clients and help measure the effectiveness of such programs. What This Article Adds: This study provides evidence that a basic level of continuing education can improve occupational therapy practitioners' knowledge of and skills for working with LGBT populations and highlights the need to examine and change structural biases.
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