Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: In Japan, sexual and gender minorities (SGM) remain stigmatized, provoking hospital access barriers and health disparities from judgmental care. Japan’s Western-influenced introduction of SGM course content into medical education for future physicians addresses these disparities, although often perfunctorily and inconsistently. Objective: To examine the prevalence and characteristics of medical education curriculum with respect to SGM patients, we surveyed medical schools. Methods: A medical education faculty member from each of 80 Japanese medical schools received double postcards to identify relevant SGM coursework. Upon acknowledgement, 43 schools received seven-item anonymous questionnaires in March 2018. Survey results were analyzed from the perspective of three of the qualities and abilities required of a physician – Patient Care, Knowledge for Practice, and Professionalism from Japan’s Medical Core Curriculum – to develop recommendations for outcomes-based SGM curriculum through the lens of Van Melle’s medical education framework. Results: The response rate was 46%, with 22 schools providing SGM lectures mostly to first- and third-year students. Obstetrics and Gynecology, Neuropsychiatry, and Introduction to Medicine lectures were the top three subjects offering SGM lectures, primarily consisting of basic knowledge of SGM and Differences in Sex Development. Several lectures addressed the health challenges of SGM. Primary reasons for not offering SGM lectures were lack of suitable instructors or no school policies. Conclusions: Students can best experience the humanity of SGM patients and employ more appropriate diagnostic practices and modes of treatment with targeted curriculum to address SGM health disparities and inclusion of SGM patients in clinical practice training. To disseminate SGM education in Japanese medical schools, development of qualified instructors and policies is essential, employing currently active experts. The Van Melle reforms framework can guide in the development of recommended tailored learning experiences and lectures for improved and expanded SGM education, integrating appropriate coursework within current medical core curriculum structure.
Highlights
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals face higher rates of obesity, substance abuse, sexually transmitted disease, and suicide than heterosexual and cisgender people [1]
We concluded that only 22 medical schools in Japan provide any kind of sexual and gender minorities (SGM) education
Promoting clinical practices that treat SGM patients with the same effectiveness and compassion as heterosexual and cisgender patients should be a critical element of content
Summary
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals face higher rates of obesity, substance abuse, sexually transmitted disease, and suicide than heterosexual and cisgender people [1]. They are detached from the formal healthcare system and are less likely to be insured than heterosexual and cisgender people in the United States [2]. Transgender patients often must disclose to medical personnel that their gender assigned at birth is different from their gender expression, and provide the reason for this change [8] Sexual minorities such as gay and bisexual individuals are afraid of coming out in hospitals. Survey results were analyzed from the perspective of three of the qualities and abilities required of a physician – Patient Care, Knowledge for Practice, and Professionalism from Japan’s Medical Core Curriculum – to develop recommendations for outcomes-based SGM curriculum through the lens of Van Melle’s medical education framework
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