Abstract

In the United States, approximately 10% of the population is thought to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ). However, because LGBTQ categories are not included on the census forms in the United States or Canada, population statistics are inaccurate. Through television specials, autobiographies, and news broadcasts, issues affecting the LGBTQ community have come to light in the media. The media continues to report transgender people being harassed, assaulted, and even killed, despite an increase in the LGBTQ population's presence in academic literature and initial efforts to raise public awareness of the issue. The lack of high-quality LGBTQ-specific health care is a recurring theme in the media. Although LGBTQ people are not specifically mentioned in Leininger's Transcultural Nursing Theory, this theory and nursing fit the LGBTQ community well, as "the theory is known for its broad, holistic yet culture-specific focus to discover meaningful care for diverse cultures and with this knowledge gradually transforming health systems and changing nursing practices into relevant new ways of functioning." The information presented in this study is intended to inform that health care transformation, according to the study's authors.