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Abstract
Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) have unique risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). A higher likelihood of tobacco use, inadequate exercise, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity have been found, driven by increased psychosocial stressors across the lifespan. Specific treatments, especially gender-affirming hormone therapy, can also increase the CVD risk. Even though SGM-related issues have been introduced into medical education, students’ expertise regarding cardiovascular care for SGM populations has not been studied. The present study examines the clinical preparedness, attitudes, and basic knowledge of medical students regarding cardiovascular care for SGM populations. Medical students from Germany were recruited to take part in an online survey. Additionally, medical students from the UK and the USA will be recruited in the future. We used a variety of channels for recruitment (e.g., mailing lists of student councils, social medical groups). The LGBT-DOCSS was used to assess SGM-related clinical competency. Based on prior work of our research group, we developed items to assess the knowledge of SGM-related cardiovascular care and educational needs. We calculated descriptive statistics to describe the outcomes of interest. Currently, 217 medical students (20% final-year) from 5 German medical schools participated in the study. Regarding general SGM-related clinical competency, participants scored below average on clinical preparedness (3.4/7.0), above average on basic knowledge about SGM-specific healthcare (5.1/7.0), and low on explicit bias and prejudice towards SGM individuals (6.4/7.0). 84 % of the participants reported not feeling appropriately prepared to deliver cardiovascular care for SGM populations. Most participants (72 %) only knew about one or two SGM-specific CVD risk factors. There was a high interest in learning about cardiovascular care for SGM populations (96%) and a preference to implement the issue in medical school curricula (93%). Additional data from Germany, the USA, and the UK will be presented at the time of the conference presentation. The present study provides insights into the clinical preparedness of medical students regarding cardiovascular care for SGM populations. Despite showing a high interest in learning about SGM-specific cardiovascular care, most medical students feel underprepared on the issue. Implementing SGM-specific cardiovascular health into medical school curricula could close this gap.
Published Version
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