Transgender health education for pharmacy students and its effect on student knowledge and attitudes

Increased student pharmacist education on health issues and concerns of the underserved Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) population is needed. We incorporated pharmacy-specific, transgender-focused education into the curriculum and sought to identify whether pharmacy students' knowledge and attitudes towards LGBTQ individuals were affected by: (1) required online module or in-class lecture and (2) student demographics. Educational activity and setting: Pharmacy student attitudes and perceptions towards transgender individuals and the LGBTQ population were assessed before and after online (video) and in-person education using a modification of the Attitudes towards Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Patients Scale. Wilcoxon test for non-parametric paired data was used to test for statistically significant changes between the pre- and post-education surveys, while two-way analysis of variance was used to analyze correlations between student demographics and responses. Changes in students' knowledge and attitudes were observed after exposure to either online or in-person education. Increases in students' perceived competence to provide care to patients identifying as LGBTQ were associated with both teaching methods. Significant demographic associations were seen with specific attitudes; female students and students who knew a transgender person were more likely to strongly disagree that discussing sexual behavior with LGBTQ patients is challenging. Delivery of transgender-focused education produced observable changes in student pharmacist perceptions and attitudes towards working with the LGBTQ patient population. Demographic characteristics, such as being female or knowing a transgender individual, positively correlated with student pharmacists' feeling more comfortable discussing sexual behavior with LGBTQ persons.