About the seminar
Dr Nathaniel Tran (visiting scholar from Vanderbilt University) presents findings of LGBTQ+ patient experiences in the US and the incentives and barriers to LGBTQ+ affirming care.
Understanding the incentives and barriers to scale up LGBTQ+ affirming care may improve wellbeing and aging experiences of LGBTQ+ older adults in the United States. The following research included analysis of data on 954 LGBTQ+ adults ages 50-76 from the Vanderbilt University Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study (VUSNAPS). Respondents reported on seven indicators of their clinician’s LGBTQ+ clinical and cultural competency. We then used latent class analysis to identify sub-groups of LGBTQ+ patient experiences. We identified 3 latent classes: 34% of the sample was assigned to the “Affirming” class, 60% assigned to the “Neutral” class, and 6% assigned to the “Discriminatory” class. Compared to individuals in the Affirming class, those in the Neutral class were less likely to have tested for HIV; those in the Discriminatory class were less likely to have recently received an influenza vaccination and a colorectal cancer screening. Research findings support the hypothesis that there is wide variation in LGBTQ+ patient experiences, and that this variation in provider-level cultural and clinical competencies may help explain large differences in receipt of high-value preventive services recommended by the US Preventive Task Force.
About the presenter
Dr Nathaniel Tran recently earned their PhD in Health Policy from Vanderbilt University where they received the 2024 Edward Fersuon Jr. Graduate Award for excellence in research. Their research aims to understand how public policies shape LGBTQ+ population health and wellbeing across the life course. Their work has been cited by the U.S. District Court to advance LGBTQ+ civil rights, featured in PBS' documentary series Aging Matters, and covered in public media such as Yahoo! News and Huffington Post. They were a 2018 Fulbright Fellow to the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and earned their bachelor of arts in Gender Studies from Tufts University in 2017.