Introduction:

In the United States, there are an estimated 3-5 million LGBTQ+ people with disabilities (Movement Advancement Project, 2019). Transgender individuals with disabilities are nearly three times more likely than their cisgender counterparts to report unmet healthcare needs (Mulcahy et al., 2022). 

To help address these health disparities, researchers created an educational session to educate medical students on disability, language, and communication. This study demonstrated how increasing cultural humility amongst medical providers, especially during training, may improve health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals with disabilities (Ship et al., 2024). Another study on the healthcare disparities among autistic LGBTQ+ people suggested that actively partnering with stakeholders with lived experiences during research helps better address unmet needs (Wallisch et al., 2023).

Despite efforts to increase disability education among physicians and trainees, there still remains limited community-based participatory research with LGBTQ+ individuals with disabilities. Moving forward, it is critical for medical education and research to actively collaborate with LGBTQ+ individuals with disabilities to address health disparities and enhance patient care. 

Aims: 

Specific Aim 1: To collaborate with individuals with lived experiences to evaluate the UCLA DGSOM facilitated case discussion on disability and LGBTQ+ experiences

• Aim 1a. Assess the language and terminology used to determine whether it accurately represents current individuals, communities, and descriptions of their lived experiences 

• Aim 1b. Evaluate whether the case discussion questions and teaching points prioritize the medical needs of individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or with a disability 

Methods 

Participants

The inclusion criteria for participants will be adults that identify with one (or more) disability and/or as LGBTQ+. Medical diagnosis is not required. Those who identify as neither having a disability nor LGBTQ+ and all individuals under the age of 18 will be excluded from the study. Participation is voluntary and participants can opt out at any point.

Procedure

Case studies and discussion questions from the LGBTQ+ and Disability Health Integrated Session Facilitator guide will be sent to focus group participants prior to the focus group taking place. The facilitator of the focus group will be provided structured discussion guides with open-ended questions centered on gaps and suggestions for improvements in the current curriculum. The focus groups will be held over Zoom with audio recording for transcription purposes. The transcript will be analyzed by the authors for thematic analysis. The results of the analysis will be shared with the curriculum committee and focus group participants. 

Conclusion 

Evaluating and refining the disability health and LGBTQ+ facilitated case conference guide ensures it accurately reflects the diverse, intersectional perspectives and needs of the LGBTQ+ and disability communities. The facilitators will use inclusive language/values and the researchers will provide a clean language summary in the written final. Feedback from these sessions will directly inform updates to the guide, to make it a more inclusive and representative educational resource. Our overall commitment to a patient-centered research methodology ensures that the curriculum created will be both inclusive and adaptable for medical schools nationwide.