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Opening the Doors of Understanding
As Pride Month 2022 comes to an end, the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI) would like to reflect that there is still much work to be done in addressing health disparities for the LGBTQIA+ population. We would like to recognize and celebrate the work that Meredith Decker has been doing as an advocate and continues to do for patients everywhere.
“Inclusion is needed and necessary, especially in Athletic Training, where we encounter patients with a variety of identities. We have a unique relationship with our patients who we see on a regular basis, especially in athletic settings, which means they often bring a lot of different things to their athletic trainers. It’s important that we can support someone physically and mentally as a health care professional, and they can talk to us about anything,” shared Meredith Decker, clinical assistant professor in the Master of Science in Athletic Training program in UTA’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
Dr. Decker is currently the District 6 representative for Texas and Arkansas on the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. NATA is the national professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and supports the athletic training profession. It has over 45,000 members globally and is committed to engaging and fostering the continued growth and development of the athletic training profession and athletic trainers as unique health care providers.
Decker also serves as the chair of the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association (SWATA) LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. In both roles, she has focused on research and presentations to further educate athletic trainers in the field on a variety of LGBTQIA+ topics.
Recent articles in NATA’s monthly publication have focused on social determinants of health and their impact on LGBTQIA+ patients and providing patient-centered care to gender-diverse individuals.
“As a society, we have an understanding of sexual orientation, but we are lacking behind in what gender identity means. Anybody in our profession, and any profession, can stand to learn a lot about gender identity and be respectful of all,” said Decker regarding her recent publications.
She also has a research manuscript out in Research & Investigations in Sports Medicine, titled “LGB-KASH and Shortened Workplace Incivility Scale scores among athletic trainers: A pilot study.” This article investigated the knowledge and attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people, as well as workplace civility, between heterosexual athletic trainers and LGBTQIA+ athletic trainers.
“Even if we don’t experience something, that doesn’t mean we should close the door on understanding it,” said Decker. She shares this wisdom as she regularly provides training and presentations for SWATA and within the UTA MSAT program. Each student in the last MSAT cohort all went through the safe space ally training, and one current MSAT student, Larry Gipson, is the student representative on the NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. A big honor, as they represent all student perspectives at the national level to this committee.
“My mission is to make sure students go on to serve patients the best that they can. For me, that has meant leveling-up my own advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community and has led to a lot of personal growth as well,” said Decker. “And our students have wanted to become more involved as they learn more about the challenges facing the LGTBQIA+ community, which is incredibly rewarding as an educator.”