Reducing Health Disparities in LGBTQ Youth of Color

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this project is to establish a sustainable community-based participatory research (CBPR) process to reduce health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color. Evidence indicates that LGBTQ youth of color use substances (including alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs), engage in risky sexual behaviors, and attempt suicide in high rates that are disproportionate to those of both white LGBTQ youth and heterosexual youth of color. Such evidence underscores the pressing need for interventions to improve the health of LGBTQ youth of color, many of whom face "tricultural" experiences of stigma: homophobia from their racial/ethnic groups, racism from the majority white LGBT community, and the intersection of homophobia and racism from the culture at large. We propose in this project to join the forces of four Boston-based organizations with a long history of collaboration to create a Project Team who will conduct a community needs assessment to identify apriority health condition (in Year 1) and a pilot intervention research study to address that condition (in Years 2 and 3). Community input and support to the Project Team will be provided by two Community Advisory Boards (CABs); one comprised of community program leaders and government representatives and a second comprised of LGBTQ youth of color. Phase 1 of the community needs assessment will compile and review existing data pn health disparities and health concerns of LGBTQ youth of color; Phase 2 will conduct a small primary data collection study to gather more detailed information than available in Phase 1. The project team will then design and pilot an intervention tailored for LGBTQ youth of color that adapts elements from one or more existing Positive Youth Development evidence-based interventions. The pilot intervention research study will 1) assess the j feasibility and acceptability of the intervention through analysis of process evaluation data collected through implementation reports, structured observations, and participant self-assessment questionnaires and 2) evaluate the short-term impact of the intervention using a one group pre- and post-test design to measure changes in Positive Youth Development and health outcomes as assessed via participant self-report. RELEVANCE: High rates of problem health conditions in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color indicate a need for evidence-based interventions. The purpose of this study is to establish a sustainable community-based participatory research process to assess the health LGBQ youth of color and develop a pilot intervention research study to improve health and reduce disparities.