Evidence shows issues with professional conduct and discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT+) people in health and social care, continue to exist in the UK. This indicates the need to ensure that health and social care professional education must include exploration of LGBT+ issues, in order to enable professionals to provide culturally competent and compassionate care which is free from prejudice to this population.
There seems to be a lack of covering in LGBT+ health needs in the health and social care curriculum. IENE 9, an Erasmus+ funded project, adopted a mixed-method and innovative approach for gathering and developing teaching tools and resources for a more culturally competent and compassionate LGBT+ education in health and social care curricula across Europe.
The IENE 9 project is addressing this gap in education which will improve the care provided for LGBT+ people. Specific training on LGBT+ issues may result in better knowledge and skills of the health and social care workforce, which helps to reduce inequalities and communication between providers and LGBT+ people, as well as diminishing the feelings of stigma and discrimination experienced by LGBT+ people (Carr & Pezzella, 2017; Sekoni, Gale, Manga‐Atangana, Bhadhuri, & Jolly, 2017).
Stigma towards LGBT+ individuals cannot be eradicated overnight and shifting cultural beliefs is a slow process that requires imaginative and creative methods to encourage people to learn more about LGBT+ topics. Exposure to LGBT+ issues, through awareness workshops and campaigns, could facilitate this process. Health and social care professionals are the champions overlooking vulnerable LGBT+ people and it is vital for practitioners and educators to join hands and provide both educational material and policies to protect LGBT+ rights.
