Queering Educational Practices in Dietetics Training: A Critical Review of LGBTQ Inclusion Strategies
Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
15 March 2018
Abstract
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people (LGBTQ) have unique concerns regarding their nutritional health while experiencing disparities within the Canadian healthcare system. Dietetic training programs often do not provide adequate knowledge or skills to students to be competent in meeting the needs of this population. Drawing from literature from other health programs, this paper outlines key strategies to the integration of LGBTQ curriculum into dietetic training programs. LGBTQ training can help students gain cultural competencies, knowledge and understanding of the LGBTQ communities, and the nutritional concerns within them.
Résumé
Les personnes lesbiennes, gaies, bisexuelles, transgenres et queer (LGBTQ) ont des préoccupations uniques quant à leur santé nutritionnelle et font face à des inégalités au sein du système de soins de santé canadien. Les programmes de formation en diététique ne fournissent souvent pas aux étudiants les connaissances ni les compétences nécessaires pour répondre aux besoins de cette population. Puisant dans la littérature issue d’autres programmes en santé, cet article énonce les stratégies clés pour intégrer un curriculum LGBTQ aux programmes de formation en diététique. Une formation LGBTQ peut aider les étudiants à développer des compétences culturelles, des connaissances et une compréhension des communautés LGBTQ et des problèmes d’ordre nutritionnel auxquels elles font face.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Financial support: On-going financial support for Phillip Joy was provided by Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Research Award, and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation.
Conflicts of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
References
1
Albuquerque GA, de Lima Garcia C, da Silva Quirino G, Alves MJH, Belém JM, dos Santos Figueiredo FW, et al. Access to health services by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons: systematic literature review. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2016;16(1):2.
2
Mitra S, Globerman J. Rapid response: facilitators and barriers to health care for lesbians, gay and bisexual (LGB) people. Ontario HIV Treatment Network. Toronto, ON; 2014 [cited 2017 Feb 18]. Available from: http://63.135.124.232//Pages/Knowledge-Exchange/Rapid-Responses/Documents/RR79.pdf.
3
Smalley KB, Warren JC, and Barefoot KN. Differences in health risk behaviors across understudied LGBT subgroups. Health Psychol. 2016;35(2):103–14.
4
Mayer KH, Bradford JB, Makadon HJ, Stall R, Goldhammer H, and Landers S. Sexual and gender minority health: what we know and what needs to be done. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(6):989–95.
5
Eldahan AI, Pachankis JE, Rendina HJ, Ventuneac A, Grov C, and Parsons JT. Daily minority stress and affect among gay and bisexual men: a 30-day diary study. J Affect Disord. 2016;190:828–35.
6
Brennan DJ, Ross LE, Dobinson C, Veldhuizen S, and Steele LS. Men’s sexual orientation and health in Canada. Can J Public Health. 2010;101:255–8.
7
Lim FA, Brown Jr DV, and Kim SMJ. Addressing health care disparities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population: a review of best practices. Am J Nurs. 2014;114(6):24–34.
8
Blashill AJ. Elements of male body image: prediction of depression, eating pathology and social sensitivity among gay men. Body Image. 2010;7(4):310–16.
9
Calzo JP, Masyn KE, Corliss HL, Scherer EA, Field AE, and Austin SB. Patterns of body image concerns and disordered weight-and shape-related behaviors in heterosexual and sexual minority adolescent males. Dev Psychol. 2015;51(9):1216–25.
10
Kaminski PL, Chapman BP, Haynes SD, and Own L. Body image, eating behaviors, and attitudes toward exercise among gay and straight men. Eat Behav. 2005;6(3):179–87.
11
Morrison MA, Morrison TG, and Sager C-L. Does body satisfaction differ between gay men and lesbian women and heterosexual men and women? a meta-analytic review. Body Image. 2004;1(2):127–38.
12
Guadamuz TE, Lim SH, Marshal MP, Friedman MS, Stall RD, and Silvestre AJ. Sexual, behavioral, and quality of life characteristics of healthy weight, overweight, and obese gay and bisexual men: findings from a prospective cohort study. Arch Sex Behav. 2012;41(2):385–89.
13
Warren JC, Smalley KB, and Barefoot KN. Differences in psychosocial predictors of obesity among LGBT subgroups. LGBT Health. 2016;3(4):283–91.
14
Dietitians of Canada. Vision 2020: a vision for dietitians in 2020. [cited 2017 Feb 18]. Available from: https://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/DC_Vision2020_eng.aspx.
15
Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice. The integrated competencies for dietetic education and practice; 2013 [cited 2017 Nov 10]. Available from: https://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/ICDEP-April-2013.aspx.
16
Atkins J and Brady J. Queer theory & dietetics education: interrupting heteronormativity. J Crit Diet. 2016;3(1):24–34.
17
Commission on Dietetic Registration. Essential practice competencies for the commission on dietetic registration’s credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners. [No date]. [cited 2017 Nov 10]. Available from: https://admin.cdrnet.org/vault/2459/web/files/FINAL-CDR_Competency.pdf.
18
Dietitians Association of Australia. National competency standards for dietitians in Australia; 2015 [cited 2017 Nov 10]. Available from: https://daa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/NCS-Dietitians-Australia-1.0.pdf.
19
The British Dietetic Association. Dietetic support worker competency framework; 2014 [cited 2017 Nov 10]. Available from: https://www.bda.uk.com/publications/professional/band3framework.
20
Bell K, Rodden T. LGBTQ cultural competence in healthcare: a community engagement perspective [Internet]; 2016 [cited 2017 Nov 10]. Available from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8915/fb0ce9df5f209a659072716586405e5dc2be.pdf.
21
Lim F. A national survey of faculty knowledge and experience with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health and readiness for inclusion in teaching: curricular implications for baccalaureate nursing programs [Internet]. 25th International Nursing Research Congress; 2014 [cited 2017 Feb 18]. Available from: http://www.nursinglibrary.org/vhl/handle/10755/335364.
22
Arboleda-Flórez J and Stuart H. From sin to science: fighting the stigmatization of mental illnesses. Can J Psychiat. 2012;57(8):457–63.
23
Dogra N, Reitmanova S, and Carter-Pokras O. Twelve tips for teaching diversity and embedding it in the medical curriculum. Med Teach. 2009;31(11):990–93.
24
Lim F, Brown DV, and Jones H. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health: fundamentals for nursing education. J Nurs Educ. 2013;52(4):198–203.
25
Brondani MA and Paterson R. Teaching lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in dental education: a multipurpose method. J Dent Educ. 2011;75(10):1354–61.
26
Sharma M. Developing an integrated curriculum on the health of marginalized populations: successes, challenges, and next steps. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2014;25(2):663–9.
27
Ton H, Eidson-Ton WS, Iosif A-M, Sitkin N, Henderson S, and Callahan EJ. Using a retreat to develop a 4-year sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum. Acad Psychiat. 2016;40(5):796–801.
28
Russell S and More F. Addressing health disparities via coordination of care and interprofessional education. Dent Clin. 2016;60(4):891–906.
29
Kirkpatrick MK, Esterhuizen P, Jesse E, and Brown ST. Improving self-directed learning/intercultural competencies: breaking the silence. Nurse Educ. 2015;40(1):46–50.
30
Numer M, Macleod A, Sinclair D, and Frank B. Interprofessional education for faculty and staff—a review of the changing worlds: diversity and health care project. J Interprof Care. 2008;22(Suppl. 1):83–90.
31
Liddle BJ and Stowe AM. A lesbian/straight team approach to changing attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people. J Lesbian Stud. 2002;6(3–4):99–108.
32
Rye BJ, Elmslie P, Chalmers A. Meeting a transsexual person: experience within a classroom setting. Can Online J Queer Stud Educ. 2007;3(1):4. Available from: http://jqstudies.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/jqstudies/article/view/3269.
33
Hughes AK, Luz C, Hall D, Gardner P, Hennessey CW, and Lammers L. Transformative theatre: a promising educational tool for improving health encounters with LGBT older adults. Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2016;37(3):292–306.
34
Cochran BN and Robohm JS. Integrating LGBT competencies into the multicultural curriculum of graduate psychology training programs: expounding and expanding upon Hope and Chappell’s choice points: commentary on “extending training in multicultural competencies to include individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, and bisexual: key choice points for clinical psychology training programs”. Clin Psychol Sci Pract. 2015;22(2):119–26.
35
Rostosky SS, Black WW, Riggle ED, and Rosenkrantz D. Positive aspects of being a heterosexual ally to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Am J Orthopsychiat. 2015;85(4):331–38.
36
Kearns LL, Mitton-Kukner J, and Tompkins J. Building LGBTQ awareness and allies in our teacher education community and beyond. Collect Essays Learn Teach. 2014;7(1):62–7.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 79 • Number 2 • June 2018
Pages: 80 - 85
History
Version of record online: 15 March 2018
Copyright
© 2018.
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Other Metrics
Citations
Cite As
PhillipJoyPDt, MSc, PhD (c) and MatthewNumerPhD. 2018. Queering Educational Practices in Dietetics Training: A Critical Review of LGBTQ Inclusion Strategies. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.
79(2): 80-85. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2018-006
Export Citations
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
1. “It Literally Can Save Lives”: How Challenging Structural Inequities in Sexual Orientation and Gender Priorities Can Create Change in the Canadian Dietetic Profession
2. Exploring the Experiences and the Nutritional Supports of LGBTQ+ Canadians during the COVID-19 Pandemic
3. RE: Inclusive Dietetic Practice
View Options
Get Access
Login options
Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.
Subscribe
Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
