Including the LGBT-community and their specific health concerns in the larger discussion and thread surrounding cultural awareness and sensitivity is essential to prevent this population from suffering unnecessary health disparities. Although there is a plethora of cultural sensitivity and diversity literature related to many culturally specific patient populations (Huey, Tilley, Jones, & Smith, 2014; Truong, Paradies, & Priest, 2014; Tucker, Arthur, Roncoroni, Wall, & Sanchez, 2013), the literature specific to the inclusion of the LGBT community is still developing. There is also a body of literature to support cultural competence as a key curricular standard for nursing education (Mareno, & Hart, 2014), but the typical view of cultural competency is not inclusive of the LGBT community. Although cultural competency is a core curricular element in undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula (Mareno, & Hart), it is usually focused on ethnic and racial cultural competence. There is an emerging body of literature related to the LGBT individuals, but most relevant literature focuses on the long-term care needs of the aging LGBT individual (Fredriksen-Goldsen, Hoy-Ellis, Goldsen, Emlet, & Hooyman,2014) and their unique needs (Coulter, Kenst, Bowen, & Scout, 2014). Recently, there has been an emersion of nursing literature focusing on sexual health and sexual rights (Rew, Thurman, & McDonald, 2017), and nursing education (Echezona-Johnson, 2017). Additionally, LGBT-related literature is more prominent in disciplines outside of nursing. There is a gap in the nursing literature related to pedagogical practices that could enhance the acceptance of sexual identity and expression in nursing education.
Nursing faculty have a unique ability to foster the acceptance of sexual identity and expression through purposeful and inclusive approaches to teaching sensitivity towards LGBT individuals. Effective pedagogical practices which increase cultural sensitivity, inclusive of the LGBT community, could increase students’ self-awareness of their potential biases and their knowledge related to this population. This awareness can help students to understand their perceptions of the LGBT community and shift their paradigms related to the importance of acceptance of sexual identity and expression when caring for this population. This shift, as well as an increase in knowledge related to LGBT individuals, can positively influence the effectiveness and quality of care for LGBT patients. Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes related to patient populations can affect their quality of care (Deasey, Kable, & Jeong, 2014), so increasing awareness in nursing students related to the LGBT community has the potential to positively impact patient care. There is growing evidence that culturally insensitive care contributes health disparities (Tucker, Arthur, Roncoroni, Wall, & Sanchez, 2013), which is especially concerning given the unique needs of some LGBT individuals.