• Family medicine · May 2024

    Evaluating Effectiveness of an Online LGBTQIA+ Health Course for Medical Students.

    • Reni Forer, Anna Harleen, Katherine Neff, Hannah Glick, Anuj Patel, and Julie Blaszczak.
    • University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI.
    • Fam Med. 2024 May 1; 56 (5): 308312308-312.

    Background And ObjectivesDespite the increasing number of sexual and gender minority (SGM) patients in the United States and designation by the National Institutes of Health as a population with health disparities, available tools are lacking to train medical students on appropriate care for this population. Therefore, we developed and implemented a novel, self-directed, 2-week online elective for undergraduate medical students. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this course in increasing medical students' competency and confidence in caring for SGM patients.MethodsWe developed the curriculum using Kern's six-step model for curriculum development. We created anonymous pre- and postcourse surveys using the standardized Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Survey (LGBT-DOCSS) questionnaire to assess cultural competence, as well as a 5-point Likert-scored survey to assess self-perceived confidence in the care of SGM patients. We tested the statistical significance in pre- and postsurvey scores via paired sample t tests in R (R Project for Statistical Computing).ResultsWe found statistically significant increases in the LGBT-DOCSS categories of clinical preparedness (P<.001), basic knowledge (P<.001), overall competency (P<.001), and self-perceived confidence in caring for SGM patients (P<.001, N=33).ConclusionsThe course represents an effective solution for increasing medical students' self-perceived competence and confidence in caring for SGM patients. The flexibility and ease of the online format may be appealing to both students and institutions, and ultimately can serve to increase access to crucial content that is largely absent from current undergraduate medical education. Future evaluation efforts will be required to determine whether the course impacts long-term behavioral changes and outcomes.

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