Satisfaction with care, general health, and mental health among sexual and gender minority cancer survivors: Results of the OUT National Cancer Survey.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have attempted to characterize the cancer care experiences and outcomes of sexual and gender minority (SGM) patients with cancer, despite indications that this population experiences disparities across the cancer continuum. The current study used descriptive and exploratory methods to assess factors related to SGM cancer patients' satisfaction with cancer care and self-reported physical and mental health. METHODS: The authors designed a cross-sectional self-report online survey and recruited 3750 SGM cancer patient participants (mixed cancers; 85.6% White; 57% gay, 24% lesbian, 6.7% bisexual, and 6.2% transgender/gender nonbinary) using social media posts, partner organizations, and paid advertisements. They analyzed data using descriptive approaches and exploratory multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall, 70.6% of participants reported feeling satisfied with the cancer care they received, 70% rated their physical health as very good or excellent, and 46% reported experiencing less than 5 days of poor mental health in the last month. In models including all participants, complete cases, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), satisfaction with care was consistently associated with receiving treatment in an SGM welcoming environment. Physical health was consistently associated with having strong social support after cancer. Mental health was consistently associated with feeling safe disclosing SGM identities. CONCLUSIONS: SGM cancer patients treated in SGM-welcoming environments were over six times more likely to be satisfied with the care they received than those treated in nonwelcoming environments; this and other modifiable factors could be the target of further study and intervention.

Cancer in people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or gender-nonconforming.

BACKGROUND: Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or gender-nonconforming (LGBTQ+) experience discrimination and minority stress that may lead to elevated cancer risk. METHODS: In the absence of population-based cancer occurrence information for this population, this article comprehensively examines contemporary, age-adjusted cancer risk factor and screening prevalence using data from the National Health Interview Survey, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and National Youth Tobacco Survey, and provides a literature review of cancer incidence and barriers to care. RESULTS: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are more likely to smoke cigarettes than heterosexual adults (16% compared to 12% in 2021-2022), with the largest disparity among bisexual women. For example, 34% of bisexual women aged 40-49 years and 24% of those 50 and older smoke compared to 12% and 11%, respectively, of heterosexual women. Smoking is also elevated among youth who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (4%) or transgender (5%) compared to heterosexual or cisgender (1%). Excess body weight is elevated among lesbian and bisexual women (68% vs. 61% among heterosexual women), largely due to higher obesity prevalence among bisexual women (43% vs. 38% among lesbian women and 33% among heterosexual women). Bisexual women also have a higher prevalence of no leisure-time physical activity (35% vs. 28% among heterosexual women), as do transgender individuals (30%-31% vs. 21%-25% among cisgender individuals). Heavier alcohol intake among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals is confined to bisexual women, with 14% consuming more than 7 drinks/week versus 6% of heterosexual women. In contrast, prevalence of cancer screening and risk reducing vaccinations in LGBTQ+ individuals is similar to or higher than their heterosexual/cisgender counterparts except for lower cervical and colorectal cancer screening among transgender men. CONCLUSIONS: People within the LGBTQ+ population have a higher prevalence of smoking, obesity, and alcohol consumption compared to heterosexual and cisgender people, suggesting a higher cancer burden. Health systems have an opportunity to help inform these disparities through the routine collection of information on sexual orientation and gender identity to facilitate cancer surveillance and to mitigate them through education to increase awareness of LGBTQ+ health needs.

"We're always an afterthought"- Designing tobacco control campaigns for dissemination with and to LGBTQ +-serving community organizations: a thematic analysis.

PURPOSE: Evidence-based health communication campaigns can support tobacco control and address tobacco-related inequities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ +) populations. Community organizations focused on LGBTQ + health (e.g., nonprofits, community centers, and community health centers) can be prime channels for delivering evidence-based health communication campaigns. However, it is unclear how to balance the goals of a) designing campaigns to support broad adoption/uptake and b) adaptation addressing the needs of diverse communities and contexts. As part of an effort to support "designing for dissemination," we explored the key challenges and opportunities staff and leaders of LGBTQ + -serving community organizations encounter when adopting or adapting evidence-based health communication campaigns. METHODS: A team of researchers and advisory committee members conducted this study, many of whom have lived, research, and/or practice experience with LGBTQ + health. We interviewed 22 staff members and leaders of community organizations serving LGBTQ + populations in the US in early 2021. We used a team-based, reflexive thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: The findings highlight the challenges of attempting to use health communication campaigns misaligned with the assets and needs of organizations and community members. The three major themes identified were as follows: (1) available evidence-based health communication campaigns typically do not sufficiently center LGBTQ + communities, (2) negotiation regarding campaign utilization places additional burden on practitioners who have to act as "gatekeepers," and (3) processes of using health communication campaigns often conflict with organizational efforts to engage community members in adoption and adaptation activities. CONCLUSIONS: We offer a set of considerations to support collaborative design and dissemination of health communication campaigns to organizations serving LGBTQ + communities: (1) develop campaigns with and for LGBTQ + populations, (2) attend to the broader structural forces impacting campaign recipients, (3) support in-house testing and adaptations, and (4) increase access to granular data for community organizations.

The impact of employment loss on mentally unhealthy days among LGBTQ+ cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the OUT National Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and all other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) populations made up 7.1% of the US population in 2021. LGBTQ+ cancer survivors face a variety of economic and mental health disparities; however, the determinants of poor mental health among LGBTQ+ cancer survivors are understudied. METHODS: This analysis utilized the OUT National Survey which consists of N = 2233 LGBTQ+ cancer survivors (complete cases). Multivariable negative binomial and logit regression models were used to generate predicted values, predicted probabilities, and average marginal effects (AME) to assess the association between COVID-19 related employment loss and mentally unhealthy days (MUDs) and frequent mental distress among LGBTQ+ cancer survivors. Predicted values and marginal effects were generated with interaction terms (demographics interacted with employment loss) to explore the heterogeneity of the effect of employment loss among LGBTQ+ sub-populations. RESULTS: In bivariate analyses employment loss was associated with a higher number of MUDs (10.3, SD = 9.9 vs. 8.4, SD = 9.6; p-value<0.001) and frequent mental distress (34% vs. 26%; p-value = 0.001). AME from a multivariable negative binomial model revealed that employment loss was associated with 1.42 more MUDs (95%CI: 0.33-2.86). Demographic factors such as some sexual orientations, cis-female and non-binary gender, younger age, and a current cancer diagnosis were also associated with significant expected increases in the number of MUDs. When assessing the heterogeneity of the effect of employment loss some sub-populations experienced changes in the number of MUDs that pushed them over the threshold of frequent mental distress while others did not. Furthermore, identifying with multiple sexual orientations (AME: 0.19, 95%CI: 0.11-0.27), cis-female and non-binary genders (AME: 0.07, 95%CI: 0.2-0.12; AME: 0.18, 95%CI: 0.07-0.28), American Indian and Alaska Native race (AME: 0.17, 95%CI: 0.03-0.31), and a current cancer diagnosis (AME: 0.14, 95%CI: 0.09-0.19) were associated with an increase in the probability of experiencing frequent mental distress. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 related employment loss negatively impacted the mental health of LGBTQ+ cancer survivors. LGBTQ+ specific supportive services as well as equity-based employment and income interventions are needed.

Cancer in Transgender and Gender-Diverse Persons: A Review.

Importance: Transgender and gender-diverse individuals face unique challenges, including barriers to health care access and inequities in treatment, that may influence cancer risk and outcomes. Observations: In this narrative review, a scoping review was conducted focusing on primary and secondary prevention and epidemiology of cancer, barriers to health care services, and health care practitioners' knowledge about specific issues pertaining to transgender and gender-diverse individuals. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase, were reviewed for citations from their inception to December 31, 2021. This review revealed that transgender and gender-diverse people had a high prevalence of tobacco consumption and alcohol use and high rates of infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) and HIV. Transgender and gender-diverse individuals were less likely to adhere to cancer screening programs and had a higher incidence of HIV- and HPV-associated cancers. Social and economic determinants seemed to drive these disparities in risk factors and outcomes. A lack of knowledge about gender minorities' health needs among health care practitioners was evidenced, and it represented a major hurdle to cancer prevention, care, and survivorship for transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Discrimination, discomfort caused by gender-labeled oncological services, stigma, and lack of cultural sensitivity of health care practitioners were other barriers met by transgender and gender-diverse persons in the oncology setting. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings suggest that transgender and gender-diverse peoples' needs in the cancer care continuum are not optimally addressed. Effective solutions are needed to offer the best care to every patient in a person-centric and gender diversity-sensitive environment.

Gender- and Sexual Orientation- Based Inequities: Promoting Inclusion, Visibility, and Data Accuracy in Oncology.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people, including agender, asexual, bisexual, gay, gender diverse, genderqueer, genderfluid, intersex, lesbian, nonbinary, pansexual, queer, and transgender people, comprise approximately 10% or more of the U.S. population. Thus, most oncologists see SGM patients whether they know it or not. SGM people experience stigma and structural discrimination that lead to cancer disparities. Because of the lack of systematic and comprehensive data collection, data regarding SGM cancer incidence, outcomes, and treatment responses are limited. Collection of data regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender identity and/or experience, anatomy, and serum hormone concentrations in oncology settings would drastically increase collective knowledge about the impact of stigma and biologic markers on cancer outcomes. Increasing the safety of oncology settings for SGM people will require individual, institutional, and systems changes that will likely improve oncologic care for all patients.

Case-scenario exploration of cancer disparities experienced by gender minority persons.

Transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people, also referred to as gender minorities, have unique cancer prevention, treatment, and care needs and experience cancer health disparities compared to the cisgender population. We present four composite cases of the cancer care challenges experienced by gender minorities.

An Avatar-Led Digital Smoking Cessation Program for Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults: Intervention Development and Results of a Single-Arm Pilot Trial.

BACKGROUND: Sexual and gender minority young adults have a high prevalence of smoking and unique barriers to accessing tobacco treatment. OBJECTIVE: To address these challenges as well as their preferences for sexual and gender minority-targeted interventions and digital programs, we developed and evaluated the acceptability, preliminary efficacy, and impact on theory-based change processes of an acceptance and commitment therapy-based digital program called Empowered, Queer, Quitting, and Living (EQQUAL). METHODS: Participants (n=22) of a single-arm trial conducted to evaluate the program were young adults, age 18 to 30 years, who self-identified as sexual and gender minority individuals and smoked at least one cigarette per day. All participants received access to the EQQUAL program. Participants completed web-based surveys at baseline and at a follow-up 2 months after enrollment. We verified self-reported smoking abstinence with biochemical testing; missing data were counted as smoking or using tobacco. RESULTS: For young adults who logged in at least once (n=18), the mean number of log-ins was 5.5 (SD 3.6), mean number of sessions completed was 3.1 (SD 2.6), and 39% (7/18) completed all 6 sessions. Overall, 93% of participants (14/15) were satisfied with the EQQUAL program, 100% (15/15) found it easy to use, and 100% (15/15) said it helped them be clearer about how to quit. Abstinence from smoking or using tobacco was confirmed with biochemical testing for 23% of participants (5/22). Both quantitative and qualitative results suggested a positive overall response to the avatar guide, with areas for future improvement largely centered on the avatar's appearance and movements. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment acceptability of EQQUAL was very promising. The rate of abstinence, which was biochemically confirmed, was 3 times higher than that of the only other digital program to date that has targeted sexual and gender minority young adults and 6 to 13 times higher than those of nontargeted digital smoking interventions among sexual and gender minority young adults. Planned improvements for the next iteration of the program include making the avatar's movements more natural; offering multiple avatar guides with different on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender identity from which to choose; and providing a support forum for users to connect anonymously with peers.

Transgender health and well-being: Gains and opportunities in policy and law.

This article discusses gains and opportunities in policy and law in the United States related to transgender health and well-being. Topics include (1) how the bathroom myth has been used every time a trans nondiscrimination bill is considered, (2) transgender nondiscrimination laws and policies, (3) the expansion of gender discrimination, (4) strategies for promoting mental health and well-being among trans people, (5) policy developments supporting the mental health and well-being of trans people, and (6) opportunities for action. (PsycINFO Database Record