What do physicians know about homosexuality? Translation and adaptation of Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: To adapt the Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese, and to assess knowledge of heterosexual physicians on homosexuality.

METHODS: The following steps for cultural adaptation were made: translation by two independent evaluators, translation synthesis, and evaluation of semantic properties by the target population, followed by the development of a pilot study and administration of the instrument to 224 heterosexual physicians working in the Brazilian Federal District.

RESULTS: The mean number of correct answers in the questionnaire was 11.8 (SD=2.81) out of 18 items, i.e., 65.5%. Catholic and evangelical physicians gave a significant lower number of correct answers compared with those who believed in other religions or who did not believe in any religion (p=0.009), and 40% of sample did not know that homosexuality is not considered a disease.

CONCLUSION: This study adapted the American instrument entitled Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire and provided evidence for its validation in Brazil, revealing physicians' lack of knowledge about several aspects related to homosexuality. The findings of this study may help in guiding improvements in medical training and practice.