Utilizing Key Partnerships to Build Trust, Initiate Collaborations and Effectively Reach the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community with Targeted Cancer Risk Reduction Messages.

Poster Session. Bridging the Health Care Divide. April 19, 2007

Jim Shattuck, Community Services Director, American Cancer Society

415.394.7100 x 309

Summary

We know that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are at greater risk for some cancers and less likely to access necessary and appropriate diagnostic and treatment resources. Disparities in access to care are striking. Culturally competent outreach to LGBT communities with targeted messages specific to their concerns are key to reducing health disparities among this population.

Outreach/Partnership Strategies

Starting from scratch, the San Francisco Unit of the American Cancer Society embarked upon an effort to partner with local organizations serving lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender individuals to take our cancer early detection and risk reduction messages to this diverse constituency. Key objectives included gaining the trust and confidence of lead stakeholders to enable meaningful partnerships.

At the onset we developed an LGBT Advisory Board to help identify obstacles and opportunities for moving forward. Fundamental to being able to reach out to LGBT community stake holders and key organizations it was agreed that we needed to grow our internal awareness of LGBT concerns, health disparities and organizational obstacles to extending a culturally competent hand in partnership.

Strategies included:

  • Auditing existing programs for appropriate content, making changes as identified.
  • Providing sensitivity/awareness training to all staff.
  • Understanding the connections between ensuring nondiscrimination personnel and benefits policies and our ability to attract members of the LGBT community as qualified staff.

Moving forward it was agreed we needed to be visible in the community. Targeted efforts were made over several years to be present at established events and to support trusted community organizations.

Strategies included:

  • Procuring a sponsorship package with the leading online community calendar reaching thousands of individuals, including key placement of feature articles targeting segments of the LGBT community.
  • Providing sponsorship funds to the local LGBT film festival (the largest event of its kind in the country) in exchange for prime branding opportunities to target audiences.
  • Placing LGBT-specific display ads in local community newspapers, usually in conjunction with feature articles describing activities at the American Cancer Society.

After taking every opportunity to be visible in the community we believed it was essential to be seen as an honest partner with existing, trusted community organizations. We needed key leaders to speak up on our behalf to voice confidence in the American Cancer Society as a trusted partner.

Strategies included:

  • Providing sponsorship resources to help support the Lesbian Health & Research Center annual conference, year after year.
  • Providing sponsorship resources to help produce an annual LGBT art exhibit/reception at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center.
  • Providing sponsorship resources as well as programming content for the annual Gay and Lesbian Medical Association conference.
  • Providing ongoing targeted cancer awareness newsletter content and newsletter production cost underwriting to area LGBT community centers and senior services organizations.
  • Providing seed funding to underwrite a locally produced national gathering of LGBT tobacco control activists.

Increasing our involvement with community organizations and key leadership presented new opportunities to bring the American Cancer Society’s unique assets to bear to address issues of concern in the LGBT community. We looked for ways to serve our partners and the LGBT community as a whole.

Strategies included:

  • Promoting the American Cancer Society Extramural Grants Program with an encouragement to submit grants that address issues of concern to LGBT constituents.
  • Gathering and publishing local LGBT services in the Community Resource Directory database, extending our 24/7/365 hotline services to be inclusive of LGBT-specific resources.
  • Expanding the demographic questionnaire associated with the Third Cancer Prevention Study to include a question addressing sexual orientation.
  • Producing and distributing LGBT-specific cancer awareness brochures.

Finally, having established ourselves as an authentic partner we were able to provide leadership on a large-scale collaborative project bringing together individuals and agencies to raise visibility about cancer in the LGBT community. We were successful in providing leadership without eclipsing the contributions of other collaborators. This collaboration provided the opportunity to cement relationships that had been growing over the past couple of years.

Strategies included:

  • Acting in a convening role to organize a two-day conference on cancer in the LGBT community.
  • Striking a key partnership with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, providing a “track” of cancer content at their 2006 Annual Conference.
  • Leveraging the resources of the ACS Communications department to promote the event and produce the print materials.
  • Maintaining an appropriate role as partner/collaborator making certain to share the press, spotlight, outcomes and kudos with all those who played a part in the event.
  • Disseminating the information shared at the event. Podcasts of the two day event are currently hosted on the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association’s website.

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