Confidence, commitment, and control: Nursing faculty experiences with teaching LGBTQ+ health

This study was conducted to examine associations between facilitators and barriers to inclusion of LGBTQ+ content in nursing education, as well as to describe the experiences of pre-licensure nursing faculty with including LGBTQ+ content in their teaching.

Nursing faculty are charged with preparing students to provide equitable and ethical care for LGBTQ+ patients and populations. Prior research in this area largely focuses on student outcomes related to inclusion of LGBTQ+ topics, rather than on faculty experiences of including this content.

Nursing faculty in the United States (U.S.) who teach in pre-licensure nursing programs were eligible to participate. Non-probability purposive sampling and snowball sampling were utilized for this cross-sectional survey study. The survey measured control over curricular content, confidence with LGBTQ+ content, facilitators, and barriers to LGBTQ+ health content inclusion in curricula, and inclusion of LGBTQ+ content. Free-text items explored faculty experiences of including LGBTQ+ content. Descriptive and correlational statistical analyses were performed and directed content analysis was applied to the free-text data.

Respondents (N = 196) were predominantly faculty teaching in pre-licensure baccalaureate programs (70.6 %), representing schools of nursing from 41 U.S. states. Confidence with LGBTQ+ inclusivity (r = 0.669), general authority over curricula (r = 0.240), inadequate training (r = -0.427), and insufficient knowledge (r = -0.383) were all found to have statistically significant associations with LGBTQ+ health content inclusion. Additionally, commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion was a prominent theme associated with LGBTQ+ health content inclusion.

This study reveals the importance of faculty confidence with LGBTQ+ inclusivity within and outside the formal curriculum, as well as commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion. These key factors may promote greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ health topics across the lifespan and across the curriculum.