Homophobia among physicians and nurses: an empirical study

Abstract

In a large urban teaching hospital treating many patients with AIDS, 37 medical house officers and 91 registered nurses completed a questionnaire designed to measure attitudes about homosexuality. Mean scores for both physicians and nurses fell in the low-grade homophobic range. No significant differences were found between scores for doctors and nurses, but women respondents were significantly more homophobic than men. Respondents who had a friend or relative who was homosexual were less homophobic than those who did not. Nearly 10 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that homosexuals who contract AIDS are getting what they deserve. The authors consider this to be an alarming statistic and conclude from the findings that homophobia is higher than desirable in this group of health professionals.