Advisory Committee Chair
Retta R Evans
Advisory Committee Members
Hussain D Abdullatif
Michelle R Brown
Tekuila R Carter
Jenna M Lachenaye
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2021
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Education
Abstract
Purpose: Transgender patients face healthcare discrimination, resulting in a delay or avoidance in seeking care and increased negative health outcomes. The presence of cultural competence in patient-provider interactions has been shown to increase trust and satisfaction, resulting in better health outcomes. However, physicians receive little to no training on how to interact with transgender patients in a culturally competent manner. Anesthesia physicians often have no prior relationship with their patients and have very limited time for patient interaction before delivering care. This is why it is essential that anesthesia physicians possess the knowledge and skills to treat all types of patients in a confident, culturally competent manner, including those identifying as transgender. The purpose of this study is to determine the behavioral factors that influence the provision of culturally competent care by anesthesia physicians to transgender patients. Methods: A two-phase design was utilized to explore the attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of anesthesia physicians, both in training and practicing independently. The first study phase allowed exploration of themes related to the facilitators and barriers of the provision of culturally competent care to transgender patients. The second phase involved the creation of a survey informed by findings in the first phase. Analysis/Results: Thematic analysis was performed on results from an elicitation survey utilized in the first phase of research. In the second phase, the 51-question survey was distributed to 100 anesthesia physicians at a single academic medical center within the southeastern U.S. Seventy surveys were returned, resulting in a 70% response rate. Analyses were conducted to determine the largest influence of intent to interact with transgender patients in a culturally competent manner, as well as to establish the reliability of the tool. Conclusions: Attitude toward the target behavior was shown to be the largest influencer of intent to interact with transgender patients in a culturally competent manner. Subjective norms were also shown to be significantly influential. Determining the significant influencers of intent can inform future research and interventions aimed at increasing the target behavior. Keywords: transgender, theory of planned behavior, anesthesia, physician, cultural competence
Recommended Citation
Blanchard, Erin Elizabeth, "Beliefs And Intentions Of Anesthesia Physicians Toward Providing Culturally Competent Care To Transgender Patients" (2021). All ETDs from UAB. 738.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/738