Healthcare provider experience in caring for sexual minority patients in West Africa: An integrative review

Background: Sexual Minority People (LGBTQ) are a population experiencing significant health disparities, including higher rates of diseases, injury, and violence. Their marginalized status also limits their opportunities to achieve optimal health outcomes. While LGBTQ individuals face significant stigma and discrimination in accessing healthcare, the experiences of healthcare providers – key stakeholders in addressing these challenges – remains underexplored, which is the objective of this study, exploring the experiences of the care providers. Purpose: To describe the experiences of providers and contribute to improving the competence of Ghanaian nurses in their care for sexual minority patients. Methods: An integrative literature review, following the standards of Whittemore and Knafl’s framework. Literature was search on CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science, Global Public Health, and Google Scholar, using sexual minority (LGBTQ), healthcare providers and West Africa as broad concepts to generate keywords. Results: A total of 156 articles were retrieved from database searches, and were filtered using predefined inclusion criteria, focusing on relevance and methodological rigor, using the PRISMA review process and 4 final articles were included in the review. These studies highlighted stigma from healthcare providers, poor knowledge of sexual identity, sexual orientation and the unique needs of sexual minority people. Institutional homophobia and unsafe healthcare facilities for LGBTQ people were also unearthed. Implications: Healthcare related stigma must be addressed through; continued professional development training for healthcare workers to understand the impact of stigma and promote their knowledge of sexual minority health needs, implementing culturally safe curriculum on minority healthcare, and making healthcare facilities minority friendly.