A health workforce trained to conduct Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM)-inclusive cancer research is needed to meet the needs of SGM persons seeking comprehensive cancer care, including prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship care. Research on SGM cancer care has described many SGM cancer disparities, and a growing number of studies of SGM individuals have documented increased exposure to cancer-risk factors and certain cancers, as well as poorer cancer outcomes. Yet SGM patients are extremely diverse, presenting with unique and varied care needs. Although the body of research focused on SGM groups continues to grow, gaps persist in the knowledge of specific SGM cancer risk factors and cancer treatment experiences that is critical for developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in oncology care across the cancer care continuum ? from prevention to survivorship. As no nationally available resource routinely trains and prepares the oncology and biomedical workforce for SGM cancer research, our short-term goal is to design an up-to-date, competency-based 1.5 day workshop for early career researchers: titled SGM Cancer CARE (Sexual and Gender Minority Cancer: Curricular Advances for Research and Education). Informed by our needs assessment, the curriculum will be designed by a multi-disciplinary and multi- institutional leadership team and advisory committee that has national perspective and experience with SGM populations, and in-depth knowledge and expertise in multiple key areas, including cancer research, clinical care, curriculum development, and health care advocacy. This project has the following specific aims: 1) Refine curriculum topics and learning objectives; 2) Design the curricular modules and materials; and 3) Pilot test and evaluate the curriculum. It will be created for health and research professionals with MD, DO, PhD, or DrPH degrees, targeting individuals in the process of shaping their research agendas and interested in SGM cancer issues. It will be presented in a 1.5 day workshop through five modules: 1) clinical cancer research; 2) behavioral science and interventions; 3) epidemiology and population-level research; 4) community research, vulnerable populations, and responsible conduct of research, and 5) opportunities and challenges across modules (i.e. research strategy, funding opportunities, mentorship, and collaborations). The workshop will be piloted as a pre-conference opportunity for the annual LGBT Health Workforce Conference sponsored by the BNGAP organization. The workshop will provide participants with knowledge and skills to conduct quality and culturally appropriate research to improve SGM care across the cancer care continuum, and will facilitate participant access to a national research community and health care provider network dedicated to shared goals in SGM cancer research. Long-term, the resulting curriculum can be expanded and adapted for integration into existing curricula, stimulating training and education of additional professionals to increase SGM cancer research in order to create health equity for vulnerable SGM populations.
Better understanding by researchers and oncologists of the unique health needs of Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) individuals could markedly reduce cancer risk and/or improve their experience along the cancer care continuum, from prevention to survivorship. In this project, we will design and evaluate a curriculum to help prepare early career MD/DO and PhD/DrPH researchers with capacity to include SGM persons in their cancer research portfolios. This innovative curriculum will provide participants with an overview of the challenges and informational gaps prevalent in SGM cancer research, provide strategies and resources to address them, and introduce them to a network of researchers with shared interests to serve as role models, mentors, and collaborators, thereby enhancing participants? abilities to successfully engage in SGM cancer research.
