Attitudes to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents seeking health care for their children in two early parenting services in Australia.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the attitudes to and knowledge and beliefs about homosexuality of nurses and allied professionals in two early parenting services in Australia.


BACKGROUND
Early parenting services employ nurses and allied professionals. Access and inclusion policies are important in community health and early childhood service settings. However, little is known about the perceptions of professionals who work within early parenting services in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families.


METHODS
This is the final in a series of studies and was undertaken in two early parenting services in two states in Australia using a cross-sectional design with quantitative and qualitative approaches.


METHODS
Validated questionnaires were completed by 51 nurses and allied professionals and tested with chi-squared test of independence (or Fisher's exact test), Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance or Spearman's rank correlation. Thematic analysis examined qualitative data collected in a box for free comments.


RESULTS
Of the constructs measured by the questionnaires, no significant relationships were found in knowledge, attitude and gay affirmative practice scores by sociodemographic variables or professional group. However, attitude scores towards lesbians and gay men were significantly negatively affected by conservative political affiliation (p = 0·038), held religious beliefs (p = 0·011) and frequency of praying (p = 0·018). Six overall themes were found as follows: respect, parenting role, implications for the child, management, disclosure, resources and training.


CONCLUSIONS
The study provided an in-depth analysis of the attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of professionals in two early parenting services, showing that work is needed to promote acceptance of diversity and the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families in planning, developing, evaluating and accessing early parenting services.


CONCLUSIONS
Access and inclusion plans for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families are crucial in early parenting services in Australia and should be included in professional development programmes.
Ngala Early Parenting Service, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Curtin School of Nursing, Midwifery & Paramedicine, Bentley, WA, Australia.|University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, WA, Australia.
Elaine
E
Bennett
Child Health Services Child and Youth Community Health Service, Children's Health Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Karen
K
Berry
Public Health and Tropical Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia.
Theophilus I
TI
Emeto
School of Computing and Mathematics, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia.
Oliver K
OK
Burmeister
University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Qld, Australia.
Jeanine
J
Young
Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.|School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Linda
L
Shields
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063106:Transgender Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
bisexual; family-centred care; gay; homosexuality; lesbian; parents; sexuality; transgender