Attitudes, feelings, behaviors, and myths of clinical nurses towards LGBTI individuals

This research has been conducted as a descriptive study to identify the attitudes, feelings, behaviours and myths of clinical nurses towards LGBTI individuals. The research population consists of clinical nurses working at training and research, state, private and university hospitals with 100 and over bed capacity in the city centre within the boundaries of the Municipality of Ankara. In accordance with the power analysis conducted, it has been identified that at least 251 nurses should be included in the study at 90% power and 5% Type I error levels. The research data were collected by a single form, consisting of two parts and developed by the researchers. The first part introduces the nurses and the second part consists of a questionnaire, which seeks to identify the attitudes, emotions, behaviours and myths of clinical nurses towards LGBTI individuals. Frequency (number, percentage) analysis was utilized to present the data obtained from the research. In this research, it was observed that approximately half of the nurses have negative attitudes or are uncertain about working in the same environment with LGBTI individuals, make friends with them, and providing them nursing care in a special unit; and the majority of the nurses have positive attitudes for providing care to LGBTI individuals. It was observed that nurses do not mostly feel differently towards the LGBTI individuals from heterosexual patients and exhibit different behaviours, yet they experience some challenges in some specific circumstances. Some of the nurses appear to have myths such as considering LGBTI as an illness, congenital anomaly, a psychological problem, a trauma-induced condition, perversion, moral weakness, tendency to use drugs, thinking that they can carry infectious diseases such as HIV, work in the prostitution industry and have random sexual relations. As a result of this study, it is suggested that awareness and training activities should be conducted to change the negative attitudes, feelings, behaviours and myths of nurses. Keywards: Homosexuality, transgender persons, intersex persons, attitude, nurse