JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite South Africa’s progressive legislation to protect the human rights of individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Allied (LGBTQIA+), these individuals continue to encounter challenges with accessing quality health care. This subsequently leads to unmet health needs which results in poor outcomes. Evidence suggests that the LGBTQIA+ community are faced with disproportionate rates of HIV infection, mental health disorders, substance abuse and other non-communicable diseases. The reported morbidity rates are attributed to challenges they report experiencing when accessing health care. Research suggests that these challenges are mainly due to the lack of knowledge and skills of health workers to provide care that addresses the unique needs of these individuals.

Objective:

The proposed study aims to facilitate the inclusion of health content related to the LGBTQIA+ community and other key populations in the undergraduate nursing curricula of KwaZulu-Natal.

Methods:

A multi-method design, guided by a combination of theoretical constructs, will be used to conduct the study using multiple phases. Primary and secondary data will be collected and triangulated to co-design relevant content and approaches to facilitate inclusion of LGBTQIA+ health content in the undergraduate nursing curricula of higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Results:

The proposed study is designed within the lens of social justice in that it will inform generation of knowledge and skills that are required for provision of care to meet he unique needs of the LGBTQIA+ community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Conclusions:

The findings of the proposed project have implications for nursing and broader health science education in relation to knowledge and skills transfer for undergraduate students in KwaZulu-Natal and potentially South Africa and broader health science disciplines.