Teaching and Evaluation/Assessment Requirements for LGBTQI2S+ Health and Wellness: A Call to Include LGBTQI2S+ Content in Canadian English Baccalaureate Nursing Curricula

Abstract

Focusing on sexuality and gender identity health and wellness information in Canadian English language baccalaureate nursing curricula and policy, the data for this study were collected from a small, but representative sample of nursing school leadership in 2013. Surveys were returned from 17 (22.4%) institutions across Canada, and scaffolded against 52 provincial and national professional curricula/ entry to practice policy documents. This research shows that Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Two-Spirit and Ally (LGBTQI2S+) content in Canadian baccalaureate nursing curricula are nominal, insufficient, and unregulated at best. In general, respondents expressed concern about their ability to teach in the area of sexuality and gender diversity, and about the availability of evidence-based up-to-date teaching resources. More specifically, gender identity/transgender health and wellness issues were overlooked in the majority of institutions despite increasingly explicit reference to such content in curricular policy.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the structural embeddedness of LGBTQI2S+ health and wellness information in Canadian English BN curricula. Focusing on conceptualizations and transmission of information in curricula and related policy, the researcher surveyed Canadian nursing school leaders to identify if, how, and where sexuality and gender diversity (specific LGBTQI2S+ health and wellness information) existed in their institution’s curriculum. The findings also reported on the acknowledgement of LGBTQI2S content in Canadian curricula policy used to prepare nurses for entry to practice. Last and finally, (outside of the scope of this journal article) the research developed a list of sexuality and gender identity health and wellness issues, as well as LGBTQI2S+ curricula and policy resources through an annotated bibliography (See: Shortall, 2017)