The effect of a sexual minority awareness training program for nursing students on knowledge and attitudes toward LGBT individuals: a randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted as a pretest, posttest, follow-up randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of the SMATP provided to nursing students on their knowledge of and attitudes toward LGBT individuals.
METHODS: The study included 78 participants, with 39 in the intervention group and 39 in the control group (α=0.05, power=0.80, effect size=0.20). To account for potential dropouts, four additional participants were added to each group. As a result, a total of 86 students were included in the intervention and control groups. The LGBT Ally Identity Measure, Attitude Scale Towards Lesbians and Gays, and Attitude Scale Towards Transgender Individuals were administered. The intervention group attended an online SMATP once weekly for 4 weeks, with each session lasting 60–90 minutes, while the control group received no intervention. Assessments were conducted at pretest, posttest, 1-month follow-up, and 3-month follow-up.
RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between the scores of students in the intervention and control groups on the posttest and follow-up tests. The average scores of students in the intervention group were higher on both the posttest and follow-up tests than those of students in the control group (F=157.464, p=0.00/F=6.237, p=0.01/F=11.291, p=0.00).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We found that the SMATP improved students’ knowledge of LGBT individuals and was effective in fostering positive attitudes.

Keywords: Attitude, gender minority, LGBT, nursing students, training