Faculty and Staff Cultural Awareness in the Care of LGBTQ Patients, A Single NCI-Comprehensive Cancer Center Experience.

Purpose/Objective(s) LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) patients also referred to as sexual and gender minorities (SGM) are an understudied and medically underserved population that experiences a range of health disparities including increased cancer risk and worse cancer outcomes. Notably, negative provider interaction(s), including discrimination and poor understanding of LGBTQ specific health issues, are often cited by LGBTQ patients as barriers to care. In order to improve health outcomes for this understudied, underserved, and vulnerable population, additional assessment of oncology healthcare providers and staff knowledge and attitudes are needed to better identify areas of improvement and guide LGBTQ-focused healthcare trainings. Towards this goal we conducted a study assessing the knowledge of LBGTQ health, and attitudes towards LGBTQ patients among faculty and staff of a single institution. Materials/Methods This study consisted of previously published surveys that were adapted at the direction of the institutional LGBTQ+ Patient and Family Advisory Council and modified to include non-clinical staff. The survey was disseminated to all faculty and staff at the institution. The survey was adapted to the participants’ level of patient interaction / care responsibilities and consisted of subsections with questions related to demographics, knowledge, attitudes, practice behaviors, and open comments towards participating in the care of LGBTQ patients. Results There were 310 responses (178 clinical and 132 non-clinical). 68% (75% clinical/59% non-clinical) were white, 77% (83%/70%) were non-Hispanic, 75% (76%/72%) were female, 82% (84%/80%) were heterosexual. Preliminary analysis revealed no significant differences regarding comfort and attitudes in caring for the LGBTQ community regardless of clinical responsibilities; however, clinical care providers were more knowledgeable regarding the unique health care needs of LGBTQ individuals. Additional data analysis is ongoing and will be available by time of the conference. Conclusion While culturally competent best practices for treating LGBTQ populations have continued to evolve, few studies have assessed medical provider and support staff preparedness to treat LGBTQ patients, especially in an oncologic setting. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the few studies assessing oncologic providers’ knowledge and attitudes in caring for the LGBTQ community, and one of the first studies assessing oncologic non-provider staff knowledge and attitudes in assisting LGBTQ patients.