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Purpose: To examine the health status and quality of life of middle‐aged and older sexual and gender minority adults in Taiwan. Research Design and Methods: A cross‐sectional online survey was conducted between May and December 2019. A total of 535 self‐identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) men and women ≥40 years of age were included in the final sample. An online questionnaire, which included the following three sections, was used to collect data in this study: (a) demographics, (b) the World Health Organization Quality of Life‐Brief Taiwan version, and (c) physical and psychological health status. Results: Middle‐aged and older Taiwanese LGBT adults who were single, were unemployed, and earned monthly incomes of <20,000 New Taiwan Dollars reported poorer quality of life. Participants with one or more physical or psychological health problems also reported poorer quality of life than those who had no health problems. In addition, singlehood, unemployment, and poor quality of life and health were positively associated with mental health issues. Conclusions: It is important to attenuate health disparities and mitigate discrimination within Taiwanese society to enhance the quality of life and mental health of middle‐aged and older Taiwanese LGBT adults. Clinical Relevance: Healthcare providers should be attuned to and knowledgeable about the health issues and specific healthcare needs of middle‐aged and older LGBT adults, and they should also provide culturally competent care to reduce health disparities of the LGBT adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess Taiwanese nurses' attitudes toward and knowledge about sexual minorities, and their awareness and behavior of providing care to sexual minority patients. Design: A cross‐sectional descriptive design was employed. Methods: A total of 323 Taiwanese nurses 20 years of age or older completed an online questionnaire between September and November 2019. It included five sections: demographics, the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, Knowledge About Homosexuality Questionnaire, Gay Affirmative Practice Scale, and nurses' needs for promoting culturally competent care. Results: Taiwanese nurses held positive attitudes, and demonstrated high levels of awareness and behaviors of providing care to sexual minority patients. However, they had limited knowledge regarding homosexuality. More so, nurses who were older, self‐identified as heterosexuals, were married, had more than 10 years' work experience, and were Buddhists had poor knowledge about homosexuality. Nurses reported that for providing culturally competent care they required knowledge about sexual minorities' physical and mental health issues; the populations' social and welfare resources; communication skills training; privacy; and safe space. Conclusions: Information on homosexuality and health issues among sexual minority populations, communication skills training, privacy, and safe space should be provided to Taiwanese nurses to improve their abilities to provide culturally competent care and to reduce health inequalities among sexual minorities. Clinical Relevance: This study's results could be used as evidence for designing and providing training programs for nurses regarding culturally competent care, and thus promote quality nursing care and decrease difficulties of accessing healthcare services among sexual minority patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The views of butch‐ and femme‐identified lesbians toward their own breasts, breast cancer, breast cancer screenings, and their behavior and intentions toward breast health care were examined and compared in this study. Methods: A total of 208 Taiwanese lesbians (134 butch‐identified lesbians and 78 femme‐identified lesbians) completed an online survey. Results: Butch‐identified lesbians were more likely to hold negative views regarding their own breasts, which were found to be significantly and negatively associated with their actions in performing breast self‐examinations when compared with femme‐identified lesbians. Conclusions: Healthcare providers should be aware of and provide culturally competent care to lesbians with different identities. Clinical Relevance: The results can be employed as evidence for promoting lesbians' breast health, particularly butch‐identified lesbians. Healthcare providers should provide a supportive environment in order to promote a positive body image and improve breast health among lesbians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]