Southwest Alabama’s LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment

Our vision for this assessment is to build on the smaller LGBTQ+ health assessment done by Stephen Young, Phd and Mary B. Smith, MSW, LICSW-PIP in 2019, widening the scope of the assessment (from health to comprehensive needs) and soliciting a wider and more racially and socioeconomically diverse participant population.

Using community-based participatory research, the project’s academic team led by UPenn doctoral candidate Mary Smith is developing our survey tool and seeking IRB approval through the University of South Alabama. Twenty-one community partner organizations are guiding the effort and contributing resources for the study. Dr. Sarah MacCarthy, Sc.D. of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health is serving as a consultant.

Participating on the academic team are Dr. Jenna Pfleeger, Dr. Rebecca Sollie, Dr. Franklin Trimm, Dr. Amy Upton, Dr. Natalie Fox, Shey Thomas-Thorn, MPH, and medical students Taran Carrasco and Alana Fortune. The survey will have tracks for LGBTQ+ youth and adults. A survey for K-12 school teachers and counselors is being considered.

The initial timeline of this project has been revised, and as of June 2023, data collection is complete and awaiting analysis by our academic team. Results are anticipated to be finished and publicly available in fall 2023.