Enhancing gender equality for women using person-centred care and cultural curiosity

Socially constructed gender norms influence people's access to, and experience of, healthcare. Gender norms can negatively affect the health of women, men and people with other gender identities, such as transgender or non-binary individuals. Person-centred care and shared decision-making, which are widely recognised as essential aspects of healthcare, could be effective approaches for enhancing gender equality in healthcare for women. However, many women appear to receive suboptimal person-centred care. Additionally, there is a lack of representation of diverse gender identities in research, as well as a lack of awareness of diverse gender identities among nurses and other healthcare professionals. To enhance gender equality in healthcare for women, nurses and nursing students should be encouraged to reflect on their unconscious biases and adopt a stance of cultural curiosity, while organisations need to improve preregistration and post-registration training on equality and diversity.

Investigating inequalities in men's health: a literature review

As part of a project to review the delivery of healthcare services in Torbay and South Devon, England, the author undertook a literature review focusing on the specialty of men's health. Men have a shorter life expectancy than women and this discrepancy is particularly pronounced in areas of social deprivation such as those found in the coastal and rural communities of the author's locality. The concept of men's health is complex, and this literature review identified five main themes that can have a significant influence on the delivery of healthcare services for men: masculinity, ethnicity, mental health, relevance of place, and access to services. In this article, the author discusses these themes and considers approaches that could be used to improve the provision of men's healthcare.

Supporting transgender patients with their personal hygiene

Attending to one's personal hygiene is a private and ritualistic act that is linked to self-expression and is important for one's well-being and self-esteem. Providing effective support with personal hygiene to patients can demonstrate thoughtfulness and sensitivity to their individual needs. Nurses in all fields of nursing may encounter patients who identify as transgender, but many nurses have expressed concerns about their lack of knowledge and confidence in that area of care. This article discusses the use of gender-affirming language and the factors to consider when supporting transgender patients with their personal hygiene as part of personalised, equitable and inclusive nursing care.

Supporting gender-diverse young people: the role of the nurse

Gender-diverse individuals will need to access healthcare services for various reasons, with most of this care provided outside of specialist gender services. Nurses have an important role in advocating for the specific needs of gender-diverse individuals and providing person-centred care. Therefore, they have a responsibility to ensure their knowledge of appropriate terminology and gender-affirming interventions is up to date. This article provides information about gender diversity to enhance nurses' understanding of this area to enable them to care for gender-diverse people effectively and sensitively. While the focus of this article is on gender-diverse young people, the same principles can be applied across all age groups.

Meeting the health and social care needs of LGBT+ people

Rapid sociocultural shifts in understanding and acceptance of variations in sexual orientation and gender identity have occurred in recent decades, and UK health and social care providers have a legal obligation to address inclusion, discrimination and equality in policies and services. Despite this, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender + (LGBT+) people continue to report inadequate health outcomes and suboptimal experiences of care. This article considers the health ecology in relation to those who identify as LGBT+ and outlines the concept of intersectionality. The author discusses some of the issues experienced by LGBT+ people in relation to various physical and mental health conditions and services. The article aims to encourage nurses to consider what steps they can take to improve care for this group.

Co-producing transgender awareness training for healthcare students and professionals

Nurses and doctors must be culturally competent to care for transgender patients. However, there is little time dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer plus (LGBTQ+) health in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing and medicine education and healthcare professionals often lack the competence and skills to treat transgender patients sensitively. At Queen's University Belfast, a transgender awareness training session was developed to enhance the cultural competence of nursing and medicine students and academic staff. The training was co-produced with students and transgender people and delivered by a transgender person. Training on transgender health should be designed in collaboration with transgender people and should be a core component of undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare curricula.

Gender diversity in nursing: time to think again

Despite recent discussions and campaigns to widen nursing's appeal to people of diverse gender identities, it continues to be perceived as a largely female profession. In the context of an ageing workforce, and alongside recruitment and retention challenges, efforts should be directed at developing a more inclusive profession rather than focusing on why people other than women do not become nurses. To attract more men, transgender people and those who identify as nonbinary, as well as women, the approach to nursing recruitment needs to change. The profession must develop a more inclusive culture and examine and promote the advantages that gender diversity can bring to nursing. This article explores the lack of gender diversity in contemporary nursing, briefly examines the history of gender in nursing, and considers how the profession might evolve into a more gender-diverse and inclusive workforce.

Enhancing the care of transgender and non-binary patients through effective communication

There is increasing evidence to suggest that transgender (trans) and non-binary people encounter significant societal discrimination, stereotypical and misleading representation in the media, and frequent misgendering. They may also experience several barriers to accessing healthcare, as well as discrimination from staff and other patients. This article explores how and why trans and non-binary people experience discrimination, and discusses how healthcare professionals, including nurses, can enhance the care experience for these patients, with a particular emphasis on language and communication.

Advocating for LGBTQ+ older adults: a review of the role of executive nurses

Over the past four decades, the number of people aged over 60 years has increased worldwide, and within this population there has been a proportional increase in people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Executive nurses have an important leadership role in challenging heterocisnormative care practices in healthcare environments that affect the well-being of older adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and others (LGBTQ+). This article reports on the findings of a secondary analysis of data extracted from an earlier scoping review to provide recommendations for executive nurses on how to advocate for LGBTQ+ older adults and create safe and inclusive healthcare environments for them.

Understanding equality and diversity in nursing practice

Equality and diversity are terms that are used frequently in nursing, healthcare and workplace settings. Nurses' professional standards of practice and behaviour are underpinned by values of equality and diversity. This means that nurses must treat people as individuals, avoid making assumptions about them, recognise diversity and individual choice, and respect and uphold their dignity and human rights. This article explores what equality and diversity mean in nursing practice, the legal framework that underpins these terms, and the inequalities and discrimination that patients and staff may experience in health and social care settings. It discusses the role of organisational culture in supporting nurses to uphold the values of equality and diversity and encourages nurses to reflect on this topic to enhance their practice.

Non-biological lesbian mothers' experiences of accessing healthcare for their children

BACKGROUND

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) parents may have negative experiences when accessing healthcare for their children as a result of homophobia, transphobia or other forms of prejudice. Patients and their families have reported receiving inappropriate comments from healthcare professionals about sexual orientation, despite policy and government recommendations advising healthcare professionals to provide care that demonstrates respect, dignity and compassion.

AIM

The aim of this pilot study was to understand the experience of non-biological lesbian mothers accessing healthcare for their children and the types of attitudes and language they encountered. The pilot was also carried out to determine that the style of questioning allowed differentiation between sexuality and gender.

METHOD

This narrative enquiry pilot study used interviews conducted with three non-biological lesbian mothers aged 36-45 years. Two of the participants were a married couple with adopted children; the other had undergone in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with her partner. Of the three participants, two were the authors of this study. The data were coded using thematic analysis.

FINDINGS

The participants' interviews revealed mixed experiences with healthcare professionals' attitudes. Four common themes emerged: attitudes and managing healthcare experiences; acknowledgement of sexual orientation; professional standards; and family constellation.

CONCLUSION

The study found that non-biological lesbian mothers experience positive and negative interactions with healthcare professionals but feel disenfranchised because of their non-biological status. A reason for the negative interactions could be a lack of training for healthcare professionals about the challenges that lesbian mothers face when accessing healthcare for their children.

Sexual health and well-being in later life

Sexual health in later life is becoming increasingly important as more people are reaching older age and are remaining sexually active well into their seventies and beyond. Alongside this, as more older people seek new relationships following partner death or divorce, the rates of newly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections are increasing markedly. This article focuses on sexual health and well-being. It offers a definition of sexual health and explores the changes that people experience in sexual health, well-being and functioning in later life. It discusses common physical, psychosocial and sexual relationship issues, and identifies advice that nurses can offer to older people. Using the PLISSIT model, it then focuses on the role of nurses in promoting sexual health for people in later life.