NURS FPX 4015 Assessment 4 Caring for Special Population Teaching Presentation

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Capella University

NURS-FPX4015 Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and Physical Assessment: A Holistic Approach to Patient-Centered Care

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Caring for Special Population Teaching Presentation

• Slide 1:

Hi, and today I will be presenting the culturally proficient nursing care of LGBTQ+ populations, discussing the unique healthcare needs, cultural values, and research-based interventions to improve the reduction of health inequalities and the creation of supportive care environments.

• Slide 2:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals make up a diverse population group that includes all age groups, which faces significant disparities in healthcare in comparison with their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts (Lampe et al., 2024). Homosexuals are twice as likely as non-homosexuals to be subjected to unfair treatment or disrespectful attitudes by the medical staff.

The health disparities among such populations include the high rates of mental health disorders, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, self-harm, and suicide. More than a quarter of LGBTQ+ individuals report avoiding care because of anticipated bias, and a majority of them do not see the same doctor regularly, three times higher than their heterosexual counterparts (Hornig, 2024).

Characteristics of the Chosen Population Group

• Slide 3:

The LGBTQ+ community in the United States is about 10 percent of the entire adult population, which is a rather diverse community including all the demographics such as race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status (Public Religion Research Institute, 2024). There are impressive differences in generational change, as over one-third of the Generation Z adults (22 percent) identify as LGBTQ+, indicating the rising level of openness and acceptance among younger generations (Public Religion Research Institute, 2024).

Among the LGBTQ+ community, bisexual people are the most numerous with 57.3%, and gay and lesbian people have about 16 percent each, and trans people 12.5 percent of the LGBTQ + population (Gallup, 2024). The community includes people of every race, ethnicity, and religion, and healthcare providers should not make assumptions about the experiences and needs of people.

LGBTQ+ individuals face significant healthcare disparities, as persons are twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ persons to obtain biased care by their healthcare providers and are at a larger risk of mental health problems, substance addiction, self-injury, and suicide. The cultural values of the LGBTQ+ community emphasize sincerity, individuality, and the importance of authenticating healthcare settings that are inclusive of different gender identities and sexual orientations (American Nurses Association, 2020).

Such aspects of culturally competent care as the importance of understanding the effects of lifelong discrimination, the establishment of safe and affirming environments, proper pronoun usage and chosen names, and the idea that many LGBTQ+ people are likely to have delayed or avoided medical services due to perceived discrimination are important to consider.

Cultural Values and Beliefs

• Slide 4:  

The values ingrained in the LGBTQ+ community are around authenticity, self-determination, and provision of culturally safe healthcare spaces where patients will be able to present their entire selves without judgment and without fear of discrimination. The so-called concept of chosen family, a kind of support network that is established regardless of the biological or legal relationships, symbolizes an essential cultural value that offers unconditioned support, emotional stability, and validation that often plays the role of healthcare advocates and emergency contacts in case the biological family may be unhelpful (American Nurses Association, 2020).

The LGBTQ+ community holds empathy with their provider, affirmation, and adequate knowledge regarding the distinct healthcare requirements in high regard, whereby the individuals would live their authentic selves while experiencing culturally competent care. The presented cultural values are shaped by previous experiences with discrimination and bias in healthcare settings, which creates the need to make healthcare professionals learn about the power imbalances, be culturally competent, and focus on patient narratives rather than preconceptions of clinicians.

Healthcare Disparities

• Slide 5:

LGBTQ+ individuals experience a significant mental health disparity, as 66% of LGBTQ+ young people have experienced signs of anxiety and 39% reported having suicidal ideations in the last year, while those who are not LGBTQ+ have much lower numbers of these metrics (Montero et al., 2024). The study indicated that bisexual people registered the highest levels of depression, substance use and addiction, and suicidal tendency amongst sexual minorities (Mental Health America, 2024).

Healthcare bias exacerbates these disparities, with LGBTQ+ people being more likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to report experiencing prejudice and unfair treatment in healthcare settings, in addition to having a less likely chance of having a stable healthcare professional.

In terms of physical health, inequities comprise a greater rate of cardiovascular disease, gay and bisexual men are more susceptible to contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and lesbian and bisexual females are more likely to develop obesity, and LGBTQ+ individuals are more vulnerable to developing certain malignancies, such as breast, cervical, and anal cancers.

Inequality in cancer screening is particularly disturbing because lesbians and bisexuals have lower rates of cervical cancer screening compared to heterosexual women, and transgender people are significantly less likely to have breast and colorectal cancer screening compared to cisgender people (American Association for Cancer Research, 2024). LGBTQ people also have high rates of eating disorders, drug use, and cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as dyslipidemia, and risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea, are higher among gay and bisexual men (Bonomo et al., 2024).

Systemic barriers, such as limited access to LGBTQ+-friendly health care frameworks and care that is age-appropriate, especially regarding elderly LGBTQ+ persons, only intensify these disparities and expose them to greater risks of developing long-term health issues and disability.

Culturally Competent Care Strategies

• Slide 6:

Nurses can implement particular measures to accept the LGBTQ+ cultural values of sincerity and self-determination with the application of specific strategies. These are some of the strategies that deal directly with healthcare avoidance differences. As an example, Kaiser Permanente used the inclusive intake forms with the choice of partnered (instead of married only). The forms also have a field of preferred names with legal names and preferred pronouns.

This directly covers the cultural value of authenticity and opposes the health disparity in which more than 30 percent of LGBTQ+ people do not have a consistent health care provider (NurseJournal, 2024). Environmental interventions involve the display of rainbow flags and the posting of non-discrimination policies in high-traffic areas and waiting areas. They are specifically focused on the cultural aspect of the LGBTQ+ community, scanning environments to determine if they are safe.

The interventions specifically address the minority stress leading to 39% of LGBTQ + youths fulling suicidal ideation (Bass & Nagy, 2023). These plans clearly relate the cultural worth of self-determination to the decline of healthcare avoidance inequalities. There is instant visual comfort in acceptance and safety.

Mental health concerns, substance misuse, and adverse childhood experiences should be conducted as specific assessments by nurses in such organizations as Equitas Health. This is a direct response to the gap in which 66 percent of the LGBTQ+ youth report feeling more anxious than significantly lower percentages of other non-LGBTQ+ groups (Mental Health America, 2024). The systematic introduction of sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in electronic health records was on a need-to-know basis in the Veterans Health Administration.

This is a direct support of the cultural importance of being true to oneself and fills a knowledge gap in the provider that is a source of poor care. UCLA Health has staff training programs that involve every member of a healthcare team in the LGBTQ+ cultural competency training and role plays. These bring about systematic changes that deal with institutional barriers.

Particularly, they address the gap in which LGBTQ+ adults are more likely (two times more) to report discriminatory treatment by healthcare providers (Mental Health America, 2024). These evidence-based strategies directly relate the cultural principle of inclusive care to documented health disparities. They show improvement in patient trust and health outcomes that are measurable.

Case Studies and Personal Narratives

• Slide 7:

Equitas Health exhibits effective culturally proficient care implementation among different populations of the LGBTQ+. The organization has been developed to become a provider of transgender patient treatment instead of serving transgender patients with HIV services. This expansion also involved patients of different racial and ethnic groups, such as Black transgender women, with the greatest rates of being infected with HIV.

The personal testimonies underscore the importance of peer recommendations in various LGBTQ + communities. One of the Latino transgender young people said: Without the [LGBTQ] center, without my friend who referred me to [TGD healthcare provider], I do not know what would have happened (Paceley et al., 2021). The UCLA transgender health curriculum consists of panel discussions with transgender Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latinos.

These give definite examples of how good intentions may be viewed as clinician bias without cultural sensitivity. Ontario primary care teams are implemented for different populations, such as Indigenous transgender people and immigrants. Practitioners consider the provision of primary care to transgender people as the same as how other people receive care without making any additional considerations to specialized needs, like hormone therapy, and surgery associated with transition.

Conclusion

• Slide 8:

Providing culturally competent care to LGBTQ+ individuals involves nurses honoring and respecting all different identities implementing evidence-based interventions to eliminate systemic health disparities. To be successful, culturally safe spaces that place safety into the hands of patients, allow healthcare providers to engage in continuous self-reflection, and endure structural change that upholds LGBTQ+ inclusive practices need to be established. Nurse leaders are key in developing organizational cultures that incorporate inclusivity in the day-to-day healthcare relationship, so that LGBTQ+ people obtain culturally responsive care that addresses their individual needs.

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