Community-Based Participatory Surveillance of Chronic Health Outcomes and Determinants among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and Two-Spirit People (LGBTQ2+)
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes are leading causes of death in Canada. Sexual and gender minority people (i.e., LGBTQ2+) experience more determinants of these outcomes than cisgender heterosexual people. Yet, few LGBTQ2+ projects have focused on chronic health issues. Further, LGBTQ2+ people are difficult, if not impossible, to identify within most government surveys and administrative health data. With few consistent methodologies employed nationally, it is difficult to compare or link data on LGBTQ2+ people across studies or jurisdictions, making it challenging to evaluate and address health disparities, particularly those shaped by policy or environmental factors. There is an urgent need to produce comprehensive and culturally-relevant data for the LGBTQ2+ population in Canada.
Aims: Our objectives are to: 1) establish a national community-based network of LGBTQ2+ organizations representing the diversity of this population; 2) conduct, compare, and optimize community-based methods for national online and in-person enhanced surveillance of chronic health among LGBTQ2+ people; 3) determine the acceptability, feasibility, and bias of using different data sources (e.g. online and in-person surveys, anthropometric measurements, biospecimen collection, ecological data, administrative data) for chronic health indicators among LGBTQ2+ people; and 4) identify the quality of and most relevant indicators of chronic health for future enhanced surveillance with LGBTQ2+ people across Canada.
Approach: We will use participatory epidemiology and community-based research approaches, which engage LGBTQ2+ people with lived experience throughout the entire process. We will achieve our aims through a multi-stage design that includes formative research and partnership expansion, an online survey of 10,000 LGBTQ2+ people, and an in-person venue-based survey of 4,000 LGBTQ2+ people across 15+ communities nationally.
Impact: A robust knowledge translation strategy, including the development of a formal surveillance guide and a data visualization dashboard will allow for broad access to our results and outputs. This project will provide novel data for government, municipal, academic, and community-based organizations across Canada to inform chronic health interventions and policies that affect the lives and wellbeing of LGBTQ2+ people. This project will inform improvements to future population health work among LGBTQ2+ people in Canada, which in turn, can improve the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ2+ population.
Partners: CBRC, Egale and The Enchanté Network
Methods:
Quantitative: surveys and biological sampling
Funder: Public Health Agency of Canada
Current Status: Currently in planning phase. Online data collection in late-2021, and in-person collection in Spring/Summer 2023