National LGBTQ Health Conference

 Research Presentations for the National LGBTQ Health Conference

July 2022

In July 2022, Out Boulder County is giving two presentations at the National LGBTQ Health Conference about some of our recent research. We initiated these research studies due to a lack of information available to us during the COVID-19 pandemic so that we would be able to share information with key community partners and develop our programmatic response to best meet the most pressing needs of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Skip to section:

Turning Findings into Programming: The Point - LGBTQ Mental Health & Case Management Program

COVID-19 and Colorado Youth and Young Adults: A Youth-Informed Research Effort to Understand Vaccination Rates, Perceptions, and Barriers

—

Thank you to our research partner, Unwoven Ventures. Learn more about their work here: https://unwovenventures.com/

Abstract
Summary Handout
Poster File
Research Reports

Theme: Mental Health, COVID-19
Track: Practice
Format: Poster presentation
Co-Authors: Michal Duffy, Mardi Moore, Kaylin Gray

As a community based LGBTQ organization, when the pandemic hit, Out Boulder County reconfigured its programming to respond to emerging community needs. The organization conducted a series of community surveys to gather data to inform the organization’s pandemic response and priorities. A consistent finding across survey results is the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health. 57% of LGBTQ respondents reported that the pandemic was extremely or very challenging to their mental health, compared to 41% of non-LGBTQ respondents. Compared to non-LGBTQ respondents, LGBTQ+ respondents also reported much higher levels of depression over the pandemic year (46% vs. 21%) and over the past 30 days (34% vs. 17%). The top cited barriers to seeking mental health services were “overwhelming/don’t have the energy” (39%), lack of therapist or psychiatrist availability (34%), and lack of LGBTQ+ affirming therapists or psychiatrists (32%). The surveys also revealed an alarming rate of suicidal ideation in the LGBTQ community that more than doubled the rates of non-LGBTQ respondents. Individuals often experience 2-3 month delays from when they seek services to when they actually receive care. Survey responses clearly communicated the community’s frustration with navigating the mental health care system and challenges with connecting to LGBTQ-competent providers. Considering Colorado’s mental health system is notoriously underfunded and understaffed to meet the needs of the community, Out Boulder County knew it had to take action to address gaps in mental health services that the community so clearly needs.

With the quantitative and qualitative results of the surveys in hand, the organization met with a team of local mental health providers to create a new mental health and case management program called The Point.  The Point is a program designed to address the delay in receiving mental health services, the barriers LGBTQ individuals experience in accessing both mental health services and resource navigation, and to bridge the gap between crisis centers and ongoing long-term care. Mental health challenges are themselves a barrier for patients wanting to access other resources.  This program addresses both needs.

The Point is serving as an entry point for LGBTQ community members to access long-term care and other supportive resources.  The Point program was launched in late 2021 and is actively serving LGBTQ community members in need of mental health services and resource navigation. Providers in this program are LGBTQ-culturally competent with bilingual Spanish services available. This presentation will include an overview of the mental health data collected via Out Boulder County’s community surveys, how The Point program was built to address the needs of the community and the gaps in existing services, the intermediate results, and lessons learned.  While it is too early in the program at this date to provide quantitative data, we will be conducting a survey before the conference dates to collect and report program success and impact data. We already know from experience that the program is addressing clients’ immediate mental health needs and that they are connecting to other resources and ongoing care thanks to program participation. 

Learning Objectives

• Understand the challenges LGBTQ individuals in the Boulder County, CO area experience in accessing mental health services and navigating resources. 

• How to analyze findings to identify and characterize a problem. 

• How to apply findings about needs and gaps in services to create a responsive program.
  

Summary Handout

Study 1: COVID-19 Surveys of the LGBTQ+ Communities in Boulder County (2020)

Data Collection Period: March 18-27, 2020 and April 13-27, 2020
Report Published: May 2020
Number of Valid Responses: 89 and 69, respectively
Study Area: The first survey provided preliminary information about the status of the community at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second survey included more detailed questions and was designed to gauge the changing effects of the quarantine on local LGBTQ+ community members. The goal of the survey was a shorter turnaround time to inform our organizational decisions and responses rather than to create a fully detailed picture of COVID-19’s true impact on local LGBTQ+ community members.

Read the report here.

Study 2: LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Impacts Survey (2021) 

Data Collection Period: April-May, 2021
Report Published: June 2021
Number of valid responses: 297
Study Area: A follow up study to OBC’s January 2021 COVID Vaccine Survey and OBC’s COVID Impacts Surveys conducted in March and April 2020 with additional questions related to vaccine uptake, different vaccine brands, and the physical, mental health, and economic impacts of the pandemic. 
Funded by: Together We Protect - Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund

Read the report here.

Study 3: Mental Health Program Survey (2022)

Data Collection Period: August-October, 2021
Number of valid responses: 17
Study Focus: This survey inquired about potential participant interest, previous experience with mental health services, and service preferences for our nascent mental health program. 

A report is not available to this study as answers are still being collected at the time of publication and due to the sensitive nature of the responses. 

Abstract
Summary Handout
Presentation File
Research Report

Theme: COVID-19, Adolescent Health, Intersectionality
Track: Research
Format: Oral 
Co-Authors: Kaylin Gray, Mardi Moore, Michal Duffy, Lily Berlin

The Colorado Youth & Young Adults COVID-19 Vaccine Survey was a collaborative research initiative led by Out Boulder County in partnership with El Centro AMISTAD and funded by Together We Protect – Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund, conducted Aug-October, 2021.  The survey was designed in collaboration with adult staff and youth interns hired for the project. At the time of the survey, there was no state or county data on vaccination rates of youth and young adults belonging to marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+, Hispanic/Latinx, neurodivergent, and disabled, nor on vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and resistance rates and reasons of unvaccinated youth, nor on whether youth in marginalized groups face barriers to vaccination that other youth do not face. Youth participation was an identified priority for this initiative.

The survey consisted of 37 total questions with skip logic: 1 informed consent, 24 related to demographic information and 12 related to the COVID-19 vaccine, virus or pandemic more broadly. Incentives were offered for completing the survey. Extra care was taken in the survey introduction to explain informed consent given the target population included youth ages 12-17 years. The survey was advertised by the staff and youth interns via several channels.  A total of 420 responses, including 413 from the English version and 7 from the Spanish version, met the inclusion criteria. Categorical survey data were analyzed for the entire sample with comparative subgroup analyses also performed where numbers in comparison samples were sufficient. Vaccination uptake and vaccine perception findings were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

Several interesting findings were identified, many in contrast to general assumptions promoted at the onset of the pandemic and vaccination efforts. These findings include higher vaccination rates among the following populations: respondents with Spanish as their primary household language (81%), and transgender (83%), nonbinary (81%), and LGBTQ (77%) respondents. The intersectional analysis also revealed a significantly lower vaccination rate among white non-LGBTQ respondents (42%) as compared to white LGBTQ (79%), Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) LGBTQ (73%), and BIPOC non-LGBTQ (81%) respondents. Another striking finding was the impact of economic disadvantage on vaccination rates. Though economic disadvantage was correlated with lower vaccination rates overall, the degree of influence impacted some sub-groups more than others, specifically the LGBTQ, white, and young adult sub-groups. Even so, economically disadvantaged respondents reported higher rates of acceptance and hesitancy, and lower rates of resistance. The top barriers identified cited parent-related concerns, side effects, safety, and overall effectiveness. Specific top barriers changed based on vaccine perceptions (accepting, hesitant, vs resistant).

The survey results can be used to inform educational outreach campaigns to address vaccination barriers and increase vaccination rates. According to the results, additional education efforts should address key concerns such as impacts on fertility, interactions with other conditions, associated costs, accessibility and availability of vaccines and target key groups, specifically parents, young adults, and the financially disadvantaged. Additional work to address parental barriers is key to increasing vaccination rates. The results also reverse commonly held assumptions about vaccination experiences.

Learning Objectives

• Understand research results about COVID-19 vaccination rates, vaccine perceptions, and barriers to vaccination among 12-24 year old respondents in Colorado, with a special focus on intersectional identities. 

• Analyze results and the relationships between demographic data, vaccination status, perceptions, and barriers. 

• Apply research findings to inform vaccination efforts and vaccine education priorities.
  

Summary Handout

Colorado Youth & Young Adult COVID-19 Vaccine Survey (2021)

Data Collection Period: August-October 2021
Report Published: December 2021
Number of valid responses: 420
Study Area: Vaccination rates, perceptions (acceptance, hesitancy, and resistance), and barriers to vaccinations among youth (aged 12-17 years) and young adults (aged 18-24 years) with special attention to the following identities: LGBTQ+, BIPOC, primary Spanish-speakers, neurodivergence, disability, and economic disadvantage. 

At the time this survey was designed in collaboration with adult staff and hired youth interns, there was no state or county data on vaccination rates of youth and young adults belonging to historically marginalized groups.
Funded by: Together We Protect - Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund

Read the report here.