Attitudes Toward Transgender People Among Future Caribbean Doctors.
Michael H CampbellJill GromerMaisha K EmmanuelArianne HarveyPublished in: Archives of sexual behavior (2021)
The attitudes of medical students toward transgender people have important implications for the future quality of healthcare for Caribbean transgender patients. This paper examined the attitudes and beliefs of Caribbean medical students toward transgender people, provides psychometric evaluation of a promising instrument, and considers implications for the development of transgender curricula in Caribbean medical education. Medical students (N = 205; 155 women, 43 men, 7 unstated) enrolled at a publicly supported Caribbean university completed the Transgender Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (TABS; Kanamori et al., 2017). Internal consistency was strong for the total TABS (α = .93) and more variable for the three subscales: interpersonal comfort (IC: α = .91), sex/gender beliefs (SGB: α = .89), and human value (HV: α = .74). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated acceptable overall fit for the three-factor model. There were no significant gender differences in overall attitudes toward transgender people as measured by the total TABS score; women reported higher IC scores. Scores were not correlated with age or with year in medical school. Students reported significantly more tolerant attitudes on the HV scale than on IC or SGB scales. Psychometric findings establish measurement invariance and provide support for further use of the TABS in the Caribbean. We discuss implications for medical curriculum development, including use of the TABS as a tool for medical students to reflect on their individual attitudes and beliefs regarding transgender people.
Keyphrases
- medical students
- hiv testing
- healthcare
- men who have sex with men
- mental health
- medical education
- end stage renal disease
- endothelial cells
- prognostic factors
- chronic kidney disease
- peritoneal dialysis
- ejection fraction
- type diabetes
- patient reported outcomes
- pregnant women
- human immunodeficiency virus
- hepatitis c virus
- health information
- emergency medicine
- middle aged
- data analysis