Sensitivity Toward Gender and Sexually Diverse Populations: Development of a Scale

Background: Individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or nonbinary (LGBTQIA+) experience inequitable access to and utilization of health care services. Nurses' lack of awareness and sensitivity may contribute to this phenomenon. Purpose: This article describes the development and validation of the Gender and Sexual Diversity Sensitivity Scale (GSDSS). A sample of 210 undergraduate nursing students from a large research-intensive university completed the scale online. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Results: Factor analysis illustrated a three-factor construct of the scale (i.e., General Education Experience, Cognitive Awareness, and Comfort With Interactions); Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from.66 to.91, and the total scale alpha coefficient was.782. Conclusion: The GSDSS has evidence of construct validity and reliability, and can be used in studies that include nursing and other health professional students.