Leveraging a community-driven approach to address the impact of social determinants of health on structural inequities among Miami-Dade County's intergenerational LGBTQ+ Community

Urban Health Partnerships, Miami FL

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract A plethora of research exists highlighting the disproportionate disparities faced by sexual and gender minorities (SGM) of all ages, such as increased levels of homelessness, lack of access to healthcare, and negative physical and psychological outcomes. While there have been significant efforts to address systemic racism and social determinants of health (SDOHs) at the community level throughout the US (such as improving access to safe, affordable housing, improved healthcare, etc.), these efforts tend to neglect to properly integrate the experiences of SGM. There is also a severe lack of data, particularly across that lifespan, that examines the intersectionality of sexual orientation, gender identity, and health. This project addresses how the SDOHs impact structural inequities across the intergenerational SGM community of Miami-Dade County, FL, and will provide place-based structural interventions and development of a shared data system to improve health outcomes. Using the NIH Sexual & Gender Minority Health Disparities Research Framework as a foundation, place-based structural interventions will be co-designed with the target population and local Health Equity Research Assembly; longitudinal data will be collected using a mixed-methods approach; and a sustainable shared data system will be developed, including a data dashboard that includes SGM demographic indicators across all indicators and improvement to existing data collection tools. This project aims to produce positive health outcomes across the lifespan and improvements on social determinants of health impacting MDC's SGM population and a sustainable, replicable model generalizable not only to SGM populations in other geographic locations, but to other vulnerable populations.