Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South
The largest sexual (e.g., lesbian, gay and bisexual) and gender (e.g., transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse) minority (SGM) population in the United States resides in the Deep South; however, this area has no legal protections for SGM individuals, who experience substantial health inequities. Rese...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1573811/full |
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| author | Emma Sophia Kay Gabe H. Miller Frank Puga Josh Bruce Bridge Hill Kennedy Gregory M. Pavela Erin Densley Trevis Smith Mallie Froehlich Sarah MacCarthy |
| author_facet | Emma Sophia Kay Gabe H. Miller Frank Puga Josh Bruce Bridge Hill Kennedy Gregory M. Pavela Erin Densley Trevis Smith Mallie Froehlich Sarah MacCarthy |
| author_sort | Emma Sophia Kay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The largest sexual (e.g., lesbian, gay and bisexual) and gender (e.g., transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse) minority (SGM) population in the United States resides in the Deep South; however, this area has no legal protections for SGM individuals, who experience substantial health inequities. Researchers from the Deep South are consistently overlooked in national dialogs on SGM health, with few SGM health training programs located in this area of the country. In response to these health and sociopolitical disparities and the dearth of regional SGM health training programs, we developed GenderS (Education on Gender and Sex), an innovative research education program led by a community-academic partnership that provides experiential and didactic training in SGM health in the Deep South via an online asynchronous curriculum; a one-week in-person residency in Birmingham, Alabama; and monthly virtual networking salons. In this paper, we describe the theoretical underpinnings of GenderS, the process for developing the curriculum and other program components, our evaluation plan, and lessons learned to date. Through dissemination of a national toolkit that includes templates and examples from GenderS, we can help other organizations adapt our program to their local contexts to train the next generation of SGM health researchers. Although we met challenges in developing recruitment materials for the program due to the enactment of an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion law in Alabama, enthusiasm for our program remained high, illustrated by receipt of applications from 20 applicants across the United States and Africa. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-54d222ada5bc44ccb7ca8ff84be7f11b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-54d222ada5bc44ccb7ca8ff84be7f11b2025-08-20T03:27:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-06-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15738111573811Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep SouthEmma Sophia Kay0Gabe H. Miller1Frank Puga2Josh Bruce3Bridge Hill Kennedy4Gregory M. Pavela5Erin Densley6Trevis Smith7Mallie Froehlich8Sarah MacCarthy9School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United StatesDepartment of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United StatesSchool of Nursing, Birmingham AIDS Outreach, Birmingham, AL, United StatesFive Horizons Health Services, Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United StatesSchool of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United StatesSchool of Nursing, Birmingham AIDS Outreach, Birmingham, AL, United StatesAIDS Alabama, Birmingham, AL, United StatesSchool of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United StatesSchool of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United StatesThe largest sexual (e.g., lesbian, gay and bisexual) and gender (e.g., transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse) minority (SGM) population in the United States resides in the Deep South; however, this area has no legal protections for SGM individuals, who experience substantial health inequities. Researchers from the Deep South are consistently overlooked in national dialogs on SGM health, with few SGM health training programs located in this area of the country. In response to these health and sociopolitical disparities and the dearth of regional SGM health training programs, we developed GenderS (Education on Gender and Sex), an innovative research education program led by a community-academic partnership that provides experiential and didactic training in SGM health in the Deep South via an online asynchronous curriculum; a one-week in-person residency in Birmingham, Alabama; and monthly virtual networking salons. In this paper, we describe the theoretical underpinnings of GenderS, the process for developing the curriculum and other program components, our evaluation plan, and lessons learned to date. Through dissemination of a national toolkit that includes templates and examples from GenderS, we can help other organizations adapt our program to their local contexts to train the next generation of SGM health researchers. Although we met challenges in developing recruitment materials for the program due to the enactment of an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion law in Alabama, enthusiasm for our program remained high, illustrated by receipt of applications from 20 applicants across the United States and Africa.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1573811/fullsexual and gender minoritiesLGBTQcurriculumtrainingeducation |
| spellingShingle | Emma Sophia Kay Gabe H. Miller Frank Puga Josh Bruce Bridge Hill Kennedy Gregory M. Pavela Erin Densley Trevis Smith Mallie Froehlich Sarah MacCarthy Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South Frontiers in Public Health sexual and gender minorities LGBTQ curriculum training education |
| title | Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South |
| title_full | Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South |
| title_fullStr | Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South |
| title_short | Developing a community-informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the Deep South |
| title_sort | developing a community informed sexual and gender minority health research training program in the deep south |
| topic | sexual and gender minorities LGBTQ curriculum training education |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1573811/full |
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