Predictors of health professional students' attitudes toward LGBTI individuals: A cross-sectional study from Turkey

Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationships between the demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitude of health professional students toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals. Methods: A total of 860 undergraduate health professional students were enrolled in this analytical cross-sectional study. Results: The attitudes of health professional students toward LGBTI individuals are moderately positive. Some variables such as gender, faculty/department, mother's working status, having knowledge about LGBTI, having friends who are openly LGBTI, and thoughts about being an LGBTI explained 17.1 % of the variance in attitudes toward LGBTI individuals. Conclusion: Since negative attitudes may prevent LGBTI individuals from receiving effective health care, courses that increase students' awareness of their own prejudices and knowledge of LGBTI health and communication should be integrated into undergraduate programs.