Attitudes and Beliefs of Indian doctors training in rural medical tertiary college in Kolar, South India towards the LGBT community

Abstract

Background and objectives: various studies found medical students and health professionals having negative attitudes towards the LGBT community. Our objective was to find the attitudes and beliefs of interns towards the LGBT community and if there was any difference among interns of different genders towards the LGBT. Methodology:  It was a cross-sectional of 80 interns between March and May 2019, beginning their internship in RL Jalappa hospital, associated with a tertiary medical college was assessed using Riddle’s assessment scale towards LGBT. Results: Our study also indicated the majority of interns having homophobic attitudes. Despite, 100%** reporting supportive attitude, only about 35% had an attitude of nurturance. Similarly, 100%** interns had beliefs of readiness to be an effective ally with the LGBT community, only 76.3% had reported scores which indicated actual ability to be an ally with them. More female interns (78.4%) had favorable attitude scores compared to males (69.8%), however, there was no statistically significant difference to the gender of interns. Conclusion: Considering the legal battles, social stigma and the resulting negative physical and mental health outcomes among the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, it becomes all the more important for health care providers to have adequate knowledge and develop positive attitudes towards these individuals.