title: Building nurses' capacity to address health inequities: incorporating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health content in a family nurse practitioner programme.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe our experience in incorporating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health content into the family nurse practitioner curriculum at a Midwestern college of nursing in the United States.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Globally, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face disparities in the domains of physical health, behavioural risks, mental health and victimisation. There remains a paucity of nursing research on most aspects of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health and access to care. To date, nursing leadership and curricular bodies have not provided clear guidance on the role of nurse educators in preparing nursing students to provide care to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Discursive paper describing the development of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health learning module for inclusion in a family nurse practitioner programme.
  
  
  METHODS
  We summarise health disparities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, describe the process of module development and outline the learning content included in the module. We also discuss challenges faced in incorporating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender content into nursing curricula.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the lack of formal direction from the nursing sector, nursing faculty should prepare nursing students to provide culturally sensitive and competent care to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Our experience incorporating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-specific content into the family nurse practitioner programme has proven to be positive for both students and faculty.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given their large numbers and presence across systems of care, nurses are uniquely positioned to address barriers to care faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Modules such as the one described here can be used by nurse faculty to guide the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-specific content in family nurse practitioner or other nursing courses-as well as to guide the development of nursing competencies in the care of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Charles T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7530-3669
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Yingling
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cotler
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Tonda L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Hughes
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D064703:Family Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059017:Primary Care Nursing / Q000379:methods; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States
keywords: cultural issues; curriculum planning; nurse-patient relationship; primary care; sexual health; sexuality