Heterosexism and Health Care: A Concept Analysis

Abstract

The concept of heterosexism is used in a variety of ways in healthcare literature. The lack of consensus of the term makes identifying when and how it impacts the health care of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people difficult. A lack of clarity of the concept could also hinder effectiveness of education, awareness, and research tool development efforts. The purpose of this concept analysis is to offer a synthesized definition of the term heterosexism, including its relation to and distinction from related concepts like homophobia and heteronormativity. The authors use Walker and Avant's eight-step concept analysis method: select a concept, determine the aim of analysis, identify all uses of the concept, determine defining attributes, construct a model case, construct additional cases, identify antecedents and consequences, and define empirical referents. The results of the analysis reveal focus areas for future research, tool development, and suggestions for improvements in nursing clinical practice.