“Equalize” and “Include”: integrating gender and sexually diverse population’s healthcare in nursing curriculum- a quasi-experimental study

Stigma, lack of awareness by healthcare providers, and labeling gender-diverse individuals as unhealthy, have led to detrimental health effects on the Gender and Sexually Diverse (GSD) population. In Pakistan, managing this challenge due to socio-cultural values is difficult. Educating nurses about GSD healthcare needs is imperative for equity in healthcare. This study assesses the knowledge and understanding of nursing students regarding the unique healthcare needs of the GSD population while integrating this knowledge into the Nursing curriculum. A quasi-experimental study design utilizing a single group pretest-posttest approach with purposive sampling was used to assess knowledge related to health care of the GSD population among 137 nursing students. The validated tool was used to collect the data. The data was collected in 4 main sections, including demographic data, knowledge about identity, knowledge about health needs, and theoretical learning related to clinical experiences. Mc Nemar's test was applied to check the strength of the association between pre and post-test scores. The participant's median age was 22 years, and they were mostly female (89.05%). The response to pre and post-tests showed significant changes in students' understanding of the GSD populations' healthcare needs. There was a 5.84% increase in understanding of the term "GSD", a 33.58% (p = 0.037) increase in understanding of the term LGBTQIA+, and an 17.52% change in the belief that "GSD is not normal" (p = 0.006). This study shows that a curricular and teaching intervention related to GSD population and their diverse healthcare needs can significantly increase the knowledge and understanding of the nursing students.