Senior Honors Research Symposium 2022

6 Senior Honors Student: Zora Dong Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Nelson  Par Ɵ cipant Sa Ɵ sfac Ɵ on with LGBTQ+ Welcoming Measures Sexual and gender minority individuals (including lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexu- al, transgender, queer, intersex, non-binary, and two-spirit (LGBTQ+) iden ƟƟ es) face s Ɵ gma, and frequently fear discrimina Ɵ on from healthcare providers when seeking care. Dr. Nelson’s research, “Improving Sexually Transmi Ʃ ed Infec Ɵ on Screening and Treatment among People with or at Risk for HIV,” implemented 10 to 12 LGBTQ+ welcoming measures to make gender and sexual minority clients feel comfortable and safe in nine HIV primary care clinics in three United States jurisdic Ɵ ons. To evaluate whether these measures were successful, chi-square was used to evaluate the quan Ɵ ta Ɵ ve data of the 2,180 par Ɵ cipant sa Ɵ sfac Ɵ on surveys to determine whether the LGBTQ+ iden Ɵ fying par Ɵ cipants no Ɵ ced and liked the welcoming measures. At the same Ɵ me, qualita Ɵ ve methods included analyzing the comments and sugges Ɵ ons provided by the par Ɵ cipants. From the data, sexual minority par Ɵ cipants and par Ɵ cipants younger than 50 years who did no Ɵ ce the interven Ɵ ons were signi fi cantly ( p < 0.05) more likely to like 9 of the welcoming measures. Three of the measures were “behind the scenes” (clinical sta ff training, LGBTQ+ inclusiveness in sexual history, and inclu- sion of LGBTQ+ individuals on a community advisory board), so were not includ- ed in the pa Ɵ ent sa Ɵ sfac Ɵ on survey. In summary, the welcoming measures were successful in helping sexual and minority clients feel welcomed at the clinic.