142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Transgender Health incorporated into a Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Alex Maher, RN, MSN/MPH Candidate , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Kelly Bower, PhD, RN , Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD
Introduction:  Transgender communities experience tremendous discrimination and associated health disparities.  Transgender people are 4 times more likely to be living with HIV and 25 times more likely to attempt suicide, compared to the general population.1  Despite recent calls to prioritize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health by the Institute of Medicine and Health and Human Services, baccalaureate nursing curricula do not prepare nurses to care for transgender populations. Nineteen percent of transgender people report being refused care because of their transgender status and 50 percent report having to teach their provider about transgender care, emphasizing the urgent need for provider education.1

Methods: A transgender health curriculum integration project was initiated by a MSN/MPH graduate student as an independent study at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.  The aim of the project was to prepare culturally competent baccalaureate nurses with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide quality care to transgender individuals and communities. 

Results:  An online module with case study was developed for first semester baccalaureate nursing students.  Course specific curriculum content development and consultation were implemented in five specialty courses across four semesters. Materials were based on peer reviewed and grey literature and/or validated by transgender health experts and community members.

Conclusions: The infusing of transgender health into curricula is feasible and can be used in other schools of nursing to address gaps in cultural competence, address social injustices, and prepare nurses to reduce health disparities.

1. Grant, M. 2011. National Transgender Discrimination Survey.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Advocacy for health and health education
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Describe the need for enhanced training of baccalaureate nursing students in providing culturally competent care to transgender patients and communities. Identify educational objectives for baccalaureate nursing students related to transgender health. Formulate teaching strategies and a model of curriculum integration to address transgender health throughout a baccalaureate nursing curriculum.

Keyword(s): Nursing Education, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have studied the theoretical, public health, and nursing aspects of transgender health for five years. I earned a BA in Women's and Gender Studies from Georgetown University with a senior thesis that explored the psychological development of transgender youth. My work at JHU has been guided by Anne Belcher, Director of the Office for Teaching Excellence, and Kelly Bower, Assistant Professor and expert in urban community health and health disparities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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