A deviation too many? Healthcare professionals' knowledge and attitudes concerning patients with intellectual disability disrupting norms regarding sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
BACKGROUND
People with intellectual disability (ID) have few role models for sexual expression and behaviour, and those who identify as LGBTQ experience dual marginalization. The aim of this study is to explore knowledge and attitudes concerning patients with both ID and norm-breaking sexuality and/or gender identity among healthcare professionals in habilitation centres.


METHOD
Data were collected from four focus group interviews that included 19 healthcare professionals from child and adult teams at two Swedish habilitation centres. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.


RESULTS
Three themes were identified as follows: heteronormative treatment in health care, barriers for inclusion and possibilities for inclusion.


CONCLUSIONS
Norm-breaking sexuality and gender identity are still relatively invisible in habilitation centres. People with ID are still predominately desexualized and perceptions regarding their sexuality are lagging behind the rest of society. Conditions that allow for more LGBTQ-affirmative practice were described by the teams that have undergone LGBTQ training.
['Sommarö|Susanna|S|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7798-1378', 'Andersson|Agneta|A|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1632-4862', 'Skagerström|Janna|J|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1323-328X']
D000328:Adult D001290:Attitude D002648:Child D003695:Delivery of Health Care D005260:Female D005783:Gender Identity D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice D006801:Humans D008607:Intellectual Disability D008297:Male D012725:Sexual Behavior
healthcare professional intellectual disability LGBTQ habilitation thematic analysis heteronormativity