DRI Grant Proposal | Introduction to Gender & Sexuality Studies

Introduction

A cancer diagnosis is daunting and life-altering. However, a diagnosis can also be a privilege that not everybody has access to. Many LGBTQIA+ people, especially those living in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, are less likely to have access to or choose to utilize routine screening services for common cancers, and are therefore less likely to be diagnosed with cancer and receive treatment that is essential for survival. Through my research project, I aim to better understand the similarities and differences in how individuals in four key populations access services surrounding cancer:

non-LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically advantaged area
non-LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically disadvantaged area
LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically advantaged area
LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically disadvantaged area

Justification

According to the World Health Organization (WHO; 2021), cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, taking nearly 10 million lives every year. Additionally, the National LGBT Cancer Network reports that LGBT^[1] people are more likely to have poor physical and mental^[2] health. Further, they also report that LGBT people are more likely to have cancer than non-LGBT identifying people. According to a study conducted by Rossman et al. (2017), a statistically significant portion of LGBT identifying patients report having experienced being subject to harsh and/or abusive language by healthcare providers. They found that this activity promoted a lack of disclosure of sexual orientation and/or gender identity by patients, while also promoting an overall decrease in the possibility of engagement with medical providers at all in the future. Therefore, I hypothesize that LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals have less access to routine cancer screenings, promoting higher rates of later staged cancer diagnoses and fatality due to undiagnosed cancer.

Taking into account that cancer takes millions of lives on an annual basis and that LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals are uniquely impacted by this illness, it is fair to say that special attention must be paid to cancer within the LGBTQIA+ identifying population. Upon an examination of results gathered through the surveys administered as a part of this study, I will develop interventions tailored to the two LGBTQIA+ populations outlined above in order to improve their access to cancer screening and care.

Implementation

In order to accomplish my goal of making a policy recommendation to improve access to cancer screening and care within the LGBTQIA+ community, I will begin by administering my survey to as many individuals as possible. The format of the survey will allow me to separate results based on demographic information (LGBTQIA+ identity status, socioeconomic status, etc.) or in aggregate. I will reach out to LGBTQIA+ youth centers in the Charlotte area in order to gain a better understanding of how individuals who utilize these resources are affected by cancer, and I will also engage with centers providing services to people who are homeless. To reach other parts of the broader population, I will initiate a campaign advertising the survey broadly via social media with attached incentives for completing the survey. Upon completion of the survey period, I will analyze the results, identifying trends in how each of the four populations outlined in the introduction access or do not access cancer screening and treatment.

Through this analysis, I will develop interventions to meet LGBTQIA+ identifying people where they are in order to provide them with essential cancer screening and care. For example, if I find that individuals who visit LGBTQIA+ youth centers do not regularly access cancer screening and/or treatment, I will orchestrate a visit from volunteering doctors to visit LGBTQIA+ youth centers to provide free screenings to youth.

Preparation

First and foremost, I am an adolescent/young adult (AYA) cancer survivor myself. I believe that due to my socioeconomic privilege, I was able to receive high quality treatment for my cancer. However, due to my LGBTQIA+ identity, I believe that my cancer could have been caught sooner had I been more comfortable visiting my doctor for routine check-ups. Prior to my experience with cancer, I felt generally uncomfortable in clinical environments due to a weariness around whether my provider would be LGBTQIA+ friendly. Therefore, my perspective as a queer AYA cancer survivor gives me information that will be invaluable in further investigating how LGBTQIA+ identity uniquely affects the LGBTQIA+ community in its access to cancer screening and treatment.

Additionally, I have gained a background in the social constructs of gender and sexuality through my Gender and Sexuality Studies 101: Introduction to Gender and Sexuality course at Davidson College. Through engaging in this course, I have started to develop an understanding of the social constructs of gender and sexuality, and how they can complicate engagement in day to day life based on society’s present-day perceptions of these identities.

Finally, I took a course titled Health and Resiliency at Davidson College in the Fall of 2021. Part of the Writing Program at Davidson, this course was taught by Dr. Lauren Stutts, a Licensed Psychologist and Associate Professor in the departments of Psychology and Public Health. In this course, I completed a substantial research project investigating posttraumatic growth within AYA survivors of cancer. Through this course, I have gained important background knowledge in how to conduct academic research and what a typical research study looks like.

Dissemination

In addition to implementing cancer screening clinics with volunteer doctors, or doctors who receive stipends from an external funding source, I plan to educate the general public about the prevalence of cancer in the LGBTQIA+ community, and the importance of focusing on this population specifically as medical innovation continues. I will present my findings to the academic community at research symposium events and to the medical community through written study summaries to be distributed to the medical community through social media.

I will also use the survey results to construct a more significant human-subject based study upon developing a more structured clinical intervention in order to further innovate within the medical field.

Interviews or Surveys

[If I were submitting this proposal, I would insert the Qualtrics survey link here. I would also insert a PDF of the survey questions.]

Works Cited

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Cancer. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer

[1] LGBT vs LGBTQIA+: The inclusive terminology to use is ‘LGBTQIA+’, however, in this case specifically I am using ‘LGBT’ because that’s what the study uses.

[2] mental vs psychological: The inclusive terminology to use is ‘psychological’, however, in this case specifically I am using ‘mental’ because that’s what the study uses.