Abstract
Objective: To identify the perception of nursing students about the paradigms of sexual diversity. Methods: This is an exploratory descriptive study with a quantitative approach, carried out at the Estácio de Sergipe University Center with 53 undergraduate nursing students from the municipality of Aracaju / SE, from August to September 2020. Results: A greater proportion of students who felt able to provide care among those who fully knew the meaning of the acronym LGBTQIAP + (p = 0.004) and those who were aware of the existence of some health support policy for this population (p = 0.042). There was a significant distribution between having had contact with the theme in some discipline and knowing the acronym (p = 0.004), knowing how to differentiate biological sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation (p = 0.015), being aware of the existence of some health support policy for this population (p = 0.005), and perception of peculiarities of the LGBTQIAP + public that need more attention in the area of health (p = 0.030). Conclusion: It is concluded that the level of knowledge of students about the singularities and health policies directed to the LGBTQIA + population is a determining factor in offering comprehensive care that recognizes the contexts of vulnerability and exclusion to which this population is exposed.