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Purpose Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (2SLGBTQ+) people disproportionally experience health disparities, and hospital pharmacists, given their accessibility and expertise in medication management, are ideally positioned to provide care to this vulnerable population. This study investigated the barriers and facilitators faced by hospital pharmacists when providing care to 2SLGBTQ+ patients, with the goal of informing enhancement of quality care provided to these patients. Methods A mixed-methods triangulation design was utilized, comprising an online survey and qualitative interviews with Canadian hospital pharmacists. The survey used the lens of systemic oppression as a framework and assessed pharmacists' perceptions and knowledge. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results A total of 129 individuals participated in the survey, and 15 participants were interviewed. Eleven themes were identified, and findings revealed a complex web of individual, interpersonal, and systemic barriers and facilitators. Pharmacists expressed a lack of proficiency and confidence in discussing 2SLGBTQ+ health topics, further compounded by an apprehension to engage and a fear of causing harm. Pharmacists desired support from their leadership teams and organizations in the form of access to resources, time to engage in training, and workplace environments that encourage discussions about 2SLGBTQ+ health. Conclusion Hospital pharmacists in Canada are willing to provide inclusive care to 2SLGBTQ+ patients but face significant barriers. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive education, supportive workplace cultures, and accessible resources to address health disparities and improve care for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erving Goffman's seminal theorization of stigma is at the heart of social scientific conceptualizations of identity management. Using data from qualitative interviews with queer South Asian women in Canada, this article proposes revisions of Goffman's Stigma theory. Intervening his supposition of acceptance and hostility as the two possible reactions to stigma revelation, I establish denial as an additional reaction to identity disclosure. A denial reaction has four key characteristics: (1) resistance to queer sexuality, (2) prescriptive enforcement of heterosexuality, (3) refusal to accept lesbian relationships, and (4) avoidance of conversation about queerness. I argue that disclosure to parents does not always translate to outness; rather, it can force the individual back into the closet. I refer to this non‐linear process as the culturally expansive closet. The article presents a sexual identity management process model that accounts for these culturally collectivist experiences. The results are significant for rethinking and affirming non‐Western ways of managing stigmatized identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Normative beliefs around gender and sexuality place individuals in the Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (2SLGBTQ) community at risk for poorer health outcomes within the health care system compared with their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, particularly within gendered areas of care including family planning and fertility intentions. The purpose of this research was to explore the effect that the normative beliefs of heteronormativity and cisnormativity had on the experiences of 2SLGBTQ people engaged in family planning, and to begin to understand how health care providers can provide appropriate, safe, and holistic care. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using case study methodology and completing semi-structured interviews with 11 participants with diverse genders and sexualities. Findings: For members of the 2SLGBTQ community, family planning is greatly affected by ideals of normal, intersections of identities, health care systems, and community. They may face additional emotional labor and intentional decision-making when related to family planning. Heteronormativity and cisnormativity greatly impact the health care that is received. Conclusions: The findings contribute information in the limited field of research related to the 2SLGBTQ community and may support health care providers in providing holistic care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Sexual or gender minority (SGM) individuals are known to experience stigma and discrimination in pharmacy settings. It is also known that SGM individuals may delay or avoid care in pharmacies due to the stress associated with these experiences. Aside from avoidance, however, little is known about how SGM individuals cope with stigma and discrimination and how their coping strategies may influence their healthcare behaviors. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize how SGM individuals cope with stigma and discrimination associated with their SGM identity in pharmacy settings. Methods This was a qualitative study conducted using semistructured interviews. A total of 31 SGM individuals were recruited across 2 Canadian provinces. Interviews followed a topic guide designed according to the minority stress model to elicit participants' lived experiences in community pharmacies. Thematic analysis was used to identify and interpret themes. Results Five themes were identified that described coping strategies used by SGM individuals when encountering minority stress processes in pharmacy settings: avoidance (avoiding or withdrawing from care), seeking support (from people or settings), perseverance (when faced with no other option), concealment (of SGM identity), and lowering expectations (of pharmacist knowledge and competence). Conclusion Our findings support the notion that individuals cope in different ways and across a wide spectrum of behaviors. Those who avoid care, conceal their SGM identity, or are forced to persevere through interactions may be at increased risk for both physical and mental health disparities. Those who seek support or lower expectations may also be at risk for reduced access to quality care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study explores the perspectives of parents in open or polyamorous relationships with regards to challenges and benefits of practicing consensual non‐monogamy (CNM). Background: Studies show that about one in five people, both in Canada and the United States, have been involved in a CNM relationship in their lifetime, a proportion that is even higher among today's young adults. While we know that many of those people have children, little research has focused on the experiences of parents practicing CNM. Method: This article begins to fill this gap, drawing on 34 individual semi‐structured interviews with Canadian parents involved in CNM relationships and their partners. The author explores the benefits and challenges associated with raising children in the context of CNM, as experienced by the participants. Results: The vast majority of participants argued that the benefits of being polyamorous or in an open relationship considerably outweighed the difficulties they encountered. Six overarching themes emerged from the participants' discourses, namely: (1) social acceptance and legal protection, (2) coming out to children, (3) time management, (4) reconciling family obligations and personal needs, (5) it takes a village to raise children, and (6) teaching important values to children. Conclusion: Ultimately, this study shows that parents practicing CNM perceive their relationship model as mostly beneficial for themselves, as parents, and for their family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the relationship between sexual orientation and police contact—including police contact with intrusion (i.e., use of intrusive verbal or physical force) and police contact with harassment (i.e., actions making one feel inferior based on appearance, identity, or demographic background)—among a national sample in Canada. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression were used to assess the association between sexual orientation and experiences with police contact among a sample of 940 persons ages 16–30 across Canada. Compared to heterosexual participants, persons identifying as bisexual were significantly more likely to report having any police contact in the past 12 months (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.09, 2.70). Bisexual (RRR = 3.45, 95% CI = 1. 83, 6.50) and queer, questioning, and other (RRR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.15, 4.73) identifying participants were more likely to report having experienced police contact with harassment relative to no police contact, compared to heterosexual individuals. The current study provides the first analysis of the relationship between sexual minority identity and experiences with adverse police contact in Canada, revealing higher levels of police contact and police contact with harassment, especially among bisexual and queer, questioning, other individuals. Findings suggest that sexual minority persons in Canada experience potentially harmful police contact at elevated rates, which may have significant ramifications for health and traumatic stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lockdowns and preventative measures during the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of nightlife venues that have long served as outlets for queer sociality. This article examines queer people's response to such measures through a study of Club Quarantine (Club Q), a series of online queer club nights established during the early days of Canada's lockdown in March 2020. It draws on mixed methods to explore Club Q's negotiation of Zoom videoconferencing software for hosting and animating club nights, combining participant observation with examination of Club Q's promotion and media coverage as well as applying the walkthrough method to Zoom. Findings show that Club Q appropriated Zoom through redefinition, adaptation, and reinvention of the platform, reorienting its purpose from business solutions to queer representation, connection, and solidarity. We conclude that Club Q merges off-label use, as technological appropriation that negotiates hurdles specific to platform technology, governance, and economic interests, with queer use-–activity that establishes queer space. We conceptualize this queer appropriation as 'off-label queer use': practices of platform appropriation that release a queer potentiality for challenging heteronormative and marginalizing technosocial structures. Club Q challenged platform features and policies that constrained sexual expression and posed safety risks for queer users while providing a queer space for fostering resilience and solidarity during crisis. This article's theoretical contribution enables the identification of off-label queer use in other arrangements of users and technology, allowing for an understanding of when platforms facilitate or inhibit queer survival strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender affirmation for transgender, non-binary, and/or gender diverse ("trans") persons can include legal name and/or gender marker changes. Gender marker choice has become more com plex with increasing availability of a gender-neutral "X" marker. Yet, little research has characterized trans persons' perspectives on legal gender affirmation, and its mental health impacts. Here we present qualitative research exploring trans individuals' goals for and barriers from seeking gender-affirming legal care and perspectives on the "X" gender marker. We conducted one-hour semi-structured interviews with 54 trans persons in the U.S. and Canada. Almost all participants were interested in legal name (had: 54%, want: 33%) and gender marker (had: 46%, want: 46%) changes. Most common barriers included: logistics, fearing violence/discrimination, cost, and legality; 24% reported only updating some identification documents. While some sought an "X" gender marker (had: 11%, want: 19%), 32% considered the "X" harmful, fearing lack of compatibility with other documents and increasing risk of gender-based violence/discrimination. Most reported anxiety and isolation from concerns over mismatched or inaccurate identification documents. This work offers insight into how legal gender affirmation influences mental health for trans persons, highlighting the importance of mental health providers exploring legal gender affirmation when treating members of the trans community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people who make refugee claims in Canada negotiate a complex nexus of identity, belonging, and citizenship. Drawing on insights from TGNC refugees, immigration lawyers, and frontline workers, in this paper we examine the ways the state controls the trans body through the refugee claims process and in the process of integration into life in Canada, while also highlighting trans refugee methods of survival and resistance. What emerges is an understanding of the ways that refugees navigate the tension between gender, sexuality, and homecoming as both intimately felt and geopolitically managed. We convey TGNC refugee narratives to demonstrate how they both confirm and expand upon the existing literature on Canadian LGBTQ+ refugees. TGNC refugees' experiences at the Immigration and Refugee Board confirm insights from existing LGBTQ+ refugee studies. However, TGNC refugees' day‐to‐day lives differ significantly from LGB refugee lives as recounted in the literature. In TGNC refugees' attempts to access gender‐affirming documentation, healthcare, housing, and income, they confront distinct systems of transgender exceptionalism, border imperialism, and racial and heteropatriarchal capitalism that limit their access to basic necessities and impact how they build home both conceptually and materially. Key Messages: Refugee narratives elicited at the Immigration and Refugee Board follow a logic of "transgender exceptionalism" and often diverge from the complexity of Trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) refugee experiences.TGNC refugees experience barriers to accessing housing, healthcare, adequate documentation, and employment due to histories and systems of oppression.These narratives demonstrate that the trans refugee homemaking process is implicated in nationalism, but also shows the needs to push against this limiting frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Canadians endured unprecedented mental health (MH) and support access challenges during the first COVID-19 wave. Identifying groups of individuals who remain at risk beyond the acute pandemic phase is key to guiding systemic intervention efforts and policy. We hypothesized that determinants of three complementary, clinically actionable psychiatric outcomes would differ across Canadian age groups. Methods: The Personal Impacts of COVID-19 Survey (PICS) was iteratively developed with stakeholder feedback, incorporating validated, age-appropriate measures. Baseline, cross-sectional online data collected between November 2020-July 2021 was used in analyses. Age group-specific determinants were sought for three key baseline MH outcomes: (1) current probable depression, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder and/or suicide attempt during COVID-19, (2) increased severity of any lifetime psychiatric diagnosis, and (3) inadequate MH support access during COVID-19. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed for children, youth (self- and parent-report), young adults (19–29 years) and adults over 29 years, using survey type as a covariate. Statistical significance was defined by 95% confidence interval excluding an odds ratio of one. Results: Data from 3140 baseline surveys were analyzed. Late adolescence and early adulthood were identified as life phases with the worst MH outcomes. Poverty, limited education, home maker/caregiver roles, female and non-binary gender, LGBTQ2S + status and special educational, psychiatric and medical conditions were differentially identified as determinants across age groups. Interpretation: Negative psychiatric impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians that include poor access to MH support clearly persisted beyond the first wave, widening pre-existing inequity gaps. This should guide policy makers and clinicians in current and future prioritization efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at high risk of experiencing stigma, mental health problems, and being victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). This vulnerability can be explained by the sexual and gender minority stress model, stating that sexual and gender minority people suffer from specific stress factors added to general stressors, leading to more mental health and relationships problems. OBJECTIVE: The main goal of this study was to assess the impact of minority stress factors and former IPV victimization on the current mental health of Canadian SMW, as a function of their sexual and gender identity. METHOD: In total, 209 individuals identifying as women (M age = 33.9), living in Canada and who lived in a past violent relationship with a woman responded to an online survey. Well-validated questionnaires assessed sexual orientation and gender identity, former IPV behaviors, minority stress factors, depression, and anxiety. RESULTS: Hierarchical regressions showed that past psychological aggression was positively associated with anxiety symptoms and past sexual coercion with depressive symptoms. Not being monosexual was also associated more severe symptoms of depression and age was negatively associated with the severity of anxiety symptoms. After controlling for age, race/ethnicity, sexual and gender identity and former IPV victimization, having negative feelings about being a SMW was strongly associated with both depression and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSION: These results provide new information on the interconnected associations between former IPV, minority stress and SMW's mental health. Findings highlight the need to adapt clinical interventions to help buffer against victimization faced by IPV victims who identify as sexual and gender minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and other sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQ) people often experience health disparities and disparities in accessing safe health care. Yet dietetics curriculum and training opportunities for LGBTQ care are limited. The objective of this research was to explore the perspectives and professional training experiences within LGBTQ-focused topics of Canadian dietitians in order to inform future curriculum and pedagogy. This research is framed within poststructuralist philosophies. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. To be eligible, participants needed to be dietitians within Canada who had an interest in discussing gender and sexual diversity within the profession. Although the research call was open to all Canadian dietitians who wanted to discuss gender and sexual diversity within the profession, only dietitians who self-identified as allies to LGBTQ groups ended up participating in this project. Of the 16 dietitians who participated, 11 participants self-identified as members of LGBTQ groups and 5 self-identified as straight. All participants took part in online interviews done in private locations of their choosing from September 2020 to January 2021. A systematic thematic analysis was conducted. Three themes, including understanding the ethics of dietetics education, recognizing the cis- and hetero-normativity of dietetics education, and moving forward with queer pedagogy, were noted from the data. Participants explored the lack of LGBTQ focus and content during their professional training and believed such gaps were problematic to the caring philosophies of dietetics. Participants offered insights into how dietetics educators can disrupt ingrained cis- hetero-normativity and rigid binary gender norms within dietetics education and curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of British Journal of Canadian Studies is the property of Liverpool University Press / Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research & Practice is the property of Canadian Association of Midwives and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the experiences of adults who identify as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) and who have accessed emergency shelters in an urban Canadian city. Twenty LGBTQ adults who were currently or formerly homeless participated in one qualitative interview. The interview protocol included questions on the participants' experiences accessing emergency shelters, with a focus on interactions with other emergency shelter residents. Data was analyzed using an iterative coding process. The results demonstrated that participants engage in various identity management strategies and encounter both positive and negative interactions with other emergency shelter residents. The results are discussed in terms of strategies to improve emergency shelter policies to be more inclusive of LGBTQ adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The socio-politico-cultural context of sexual orientation often influences the attitudes, beliefs, and values produced in a given society. This study employed a qualitative methodology to explore the current attitudes, beliefs, and values of Canadian undergraduate students about sexual orientation. Students in a large human sexuality course at a Canadian university completed open-ended questions on the educational platform Top Hat. The data were analyzed using discourse analysis and four threads of discourse emerged: 1) The Nature of Sexual Orientation, 2) Gender Norms and Bisexuality, 3) Shared Connections, and 4) Foundations of Friendships. These findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge relating to changing attitudes, beliefs, and values about sexual orientation of Canadian university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, four scholars in feminist, queer and transgender (trans) geographies, and critical race geographies bring forth experiences of teaching about race, gender, sexualities, ability, and citizenship status in contemporary United States and Canada. We utilize "queer epistolary," a form of letter writing as speaking out loud, co-reflecting, caring, and supporting each other. In doing so, the article suggests that a queer, trans, feminist, and critical race geographic pedagogy requires ongoing community building (both virtual and material) in order to nurture and sustain the work of racialized, queer, and trans, non binary, and gender non-conforming geographers. This article presents our exchange as a way of illuminating how geography classrooms are laden with power asymmetries, and how our embodied experiences as queer and trans people are tangled in the messy power exchanges of the classroom. We argue that queering the geography classroom necessitates critical explorations of (settler) colonialism, racial capitalism, regionalisms, and geopolitics alongside our own bodies and subjectivities. Queer and trans geographic pedagogies challenge us to locate ourselves, alongside our students, within the personal and geographical specificity of power geometries in the classroom setting. This task is weighted with political urgency while simultaneously attaching vulnerability to the queer and trans geographers who embody the vexing differences that we teach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative case study explored whether the settlement and integration needs of racialized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) newcomers were being met. A total of eight stakeholders, representing either a settlement organization or an LGBTQ‐serving organization in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, participated in an invitation‐only focus group discussion. Informed by intersectionality theory and using thematic analysis of memos and triangulated arts‐informed visual recording, two overarching themes were identified: (i) challenges encountered in providing settlement and integration services; and (ii) solutions generated to improve their delivery. Preliminary findings suggested that the settlement needs of racialized LGBTQ newcomers were not being met; services were found to be sorely lacking; and settlement and LGBTQ providers lacked training, substantial knowledge, and resources to implement needed supports and services. However, stakeholders also envisioned the possibility of improved services for this population, such as adoption of an LGBTQ‐affirmative practice. Implications and recommendations for settlement practices, programs, and future research are discussed. Key Practitioner Message: • Settlement and LGBTQ service provider organizations must address current system inequities and commit to providing settlement and integration services to racialized LGBTQ newcomers in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; • Interprofessional collaboration between settlement and LGBTQ service provider organizations can support the implementation of, and improve access to, culturally appropriate settlement services and programs for racialized LGBTQ newcomers; • Using data‐driven methodologies, racialized LGBTQ newcomers should be consulted on their settlement and integration needs, to align these needs with service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined media frames in relation to the sexual violence experiences of LGBTQ persons in Canada, as members of these marginalised groups currently experience disproportionately high rates of sexual violence, as compared to straight cisgender persons. Sixty-two news articles focusing on sexual violence cases, featuring 31 LGBTQ victims and 31 straight cisgender victims, were identified using purposive sampling. The following variables were assessed: demographics and portrayal of the victims and the accused (e.g. positive, neutral, or negative tone, level of detail provided); article length, headlines, and pictures; and description of non-consensual sexual behaviours. Thematic analyses were employed to explore patterns in the news reports. Results indicated that news reports tended to dehumanise LGBTQ victims, and sensationalise their sexual violence experiences by explicitly describing non-consensual sexual acts. The individuals who were accused of sexually victimising LGBTQ persons were allocated greater coverage than the LGBTQ victims. The findings of this study implied that Canadian news media frame LGBTQ sexual violence experiences in ways that stigmatise them, and perpetuate institutional discrimination against them. The strengths and limitations of this study as well as directions for future research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile apps take advantage of the ubiquity of mobile phones and can be used to share unique pedagogical experiences with multimedia content not yet available in curriculums. This preliminary study used a quasi‐experimental pretest‐posttest design to examine changes in self‐reported empathy toward sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) minority people. We also report on the associations between gender and a physiological measure of emotional activation, skin conductance level (SCL), on self‐reported empathy. The main results of this study that examined 57 undergraduate students at a Canadian University whom interacted with a queer history app individually were the following: Preliminary evidence that (1) students' empathy toward SO and GI minorities can be measured using a modified version of the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (SEE). (2) Statistically significant increases in empathy toward SO and GI minorities pre to post app interaction. (3) Students' pre‐ and post‐empathy levels were statistically significantly higher toward SO than GI minorities. (4) Female students had statistically significantly higher self‐reported empathy toward SO and GI minorities than males. (5) Male students had statistically significantly higher SCL than females. (6) Statistically significant interaction between SCL grouping and questionnaire administration on GI minority empathy. Findings and implications are discussed in lieu of the contributions that mobile apps can play to support social change, in particular, by fostering empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews and critically analyzes the Canadian Association for Social Work Education—Association Canadienne Pour La Formation En Travail Social's (CASWE-ACFTS') Accreditation Standards and Procedures from a Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIESC) lens to examine how such are addressed in relevant documents. The CASWE-ACFTS Queer Caucus undertook a lead role in examining 'diversity' in the documents as it serves as an umbrella term for SOGIESC and other intersecting positionalities. This paper iterates an initial response in the CASWE-ACFTS Queer Caucus' ongoing consultation with the CASWE-ACFTS's Education Policy Committee's work on Education Policy and Accreditation Standards 2019 (EPAS2019). The content analysis of the documents reveals that SOGIESC issues are not adequately addressed and this has implications for undergraduate and graduate social work curricula in Canada. The authors provide recommendations that address the integration of SOGIESC in CASWE-ACFTS's Accreditation Standards and Procedures documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study brings lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans), and queer (LGBTQ+) populations into scholarly discourse related to precarious employment through a political economy of queer struggle., Methods: Drawing on narrative inquiry, 20 gay, bisexual, and queer men shared stories of precarious employment that were analyzed using Polkinghorne's narrative analysis., Results: Results tell an overarching narrative in three parts that follow the trajectory of participants' early life experiences, entering the labor market and being precariously employed. Part 1: Devaluation of LGBTQ+ identities and adverse life experiences impacted participants' abilities to plan their careers and complete postsecondary education. Part 2: Participants experienced restricted opportunities due to safety concerns and learned to navigate white, cis, straight, Canadian ideals that are valued in the labor market. Part 3: Participants were without protections to respond to hostile treatment for fear of losing their employment., Conclusions: These stories of precarious employment illustrate unique ways that LGBTQ+ people might be particularly susceptible to exploitative labor markets., (© 2024 The Authors. American Journal of Industrial Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This study examines barriers to mental health services among sexual and gender minorities (SGM) who screened positive for depression and risk of suicide. Data from an online survey of SGM (N = 2778) are analyzed. 37.5% met criteria for depression and 73.6% screened for being at risk of suicide. The most frequently cited barriers to mental health services access were inability to pay (62.3%), insufficient insurance (52.2%), a preference for 'waiting' for the problems to go away (51.5%), discomfort discussing emotions (45.7%), and feeling embarrassed and ashamed about mental health challenges (42.5%). Policy and practices implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc.) youth are at increased risk for negative outcomes. Yet little is known about their engagement with communities and resources that may ameliorate risk, particularly online. Oriented by a uses and gratifications approach, this secondary analysis (n = 4,009) of LGBTQ+ youth (aged 14–29) compares online versus offline experiences. Respondents were significantly more likely to participate in LGBTQ+ communities online. Youth were also more active, and felt safer and more supported, when participating in online LGBTQ + communities. Additionally, respondents sought online information, support, and resources at higher rates than offline. Increased attention toward online programming and resource development is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the experiences of lesbian and gay faculty and students in continuing education. In order to address this gap, this article introduces and discusses a research project conducted to understand the struggles and accomplishments of both lesbian and gay male faculty and students in continuing education (CE) in university settings. Six CE instructors and six CE students were recruited to participate in in-depth interviews from universities across western Canada. Using grounded theory for data analysis, two broad themes emerged: (a) CE in western Canada excludes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)content in their student and instructor orientation processes despite being placed in "progressive" institutions; and (b) safety concerns appear commonplace in such environments due to the heteronormative organizational culture of CE. Despite these drawbacks, study participants demonstrated strategies to minimize risk and find safety and support. Study findings suggest that CE review its work and learning structures to include queer-inclusive pedagogies and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a review of historical and social science literature on the subject of homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth. I ultimately seek to situate my future doctoral work, an oral history of queer youth homelessness in Ontario, within the scholarship surveyed here. Stories help us to understand what statistics look and feel like. This analysis takes a thematic and interdisciplinary approach that does not follow a linear, temporal understanding of events or accounts. The approach of this paper is meant to reflect the nonlinear and thematic modes of remembering that many experience when recounting their times on the street. The stories of queer youth on the street are complex and their ways of remembering these moments in time are ever-more so. But, as Sassafras Lowrey so accurately put it, "sometimes it is in the complexity that the truth is most evident". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Law & Society/Revue Canadienne Droit et Societe (Cambridge University Press) is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This empirical research explores the conditions, challenges, and lived experiences of how four diverse Canadian educators transcended heteronormative and gender-normative educational environments to become activist-educators for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer inclusion in their K–12 schools and communities. The co-creation of queer ethnographic counter narratives reveal the impetus and conditions that drove these teachers to become activist-educators in their K–12 schools, their motivations for coming out in heteronormative and gender-normative educational environments, the ensuing backlash they experienced during their efforts at promoting educational and cultural change, their individual processes in becoming critical change agents, and the educational strategies and tactics they developed from years of activist work within their schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Every Teacher Project involved large-scale survey research conducted to identify the beliefs, perspectives, and practices of Kindergarten to Grade 12 educators in Canadian public schools regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)–inclusive education. Comparisons are made between LGBTQ and cisgender heterosexual participants, between participants teaching at different grade levels, and between participants in school districts with and without antihomophobia and antitransphobia harassment policies. The authors present an analysis of the findings framed in terms of problematic gaps between educators' beliefs, perceptions, and practices. These gaps are considered in light of emerging best practices in LGBTQ-inclusive education that have been developed to improve school climates for all students, and especially for sexual and gender minority students, students with sexual and gender minority parents and other loved ones, and indeed any students who are negatively affected by homophobic, transphobic, and heteronormative school climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports qualitative findings from a pilot study that explored the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer ( LGBTQ) education needs of home-care service providers working in one large, urban Canadian city. The pilot study builds upon research that has documented barriers to health services for diversely situated LGBTQ people, which function to limit access to good-quality healthcare. LGBTQ activists, organisations and allies have underscored the need for health provider education related to the unique health and service experiences of sexual and gender minority communities. However, the home-care sector is generally overlooked in this important body of research literature. We used purposeful convenience sampling to conduct four focus groups and two individual interviews with a total of 15 professionally diverse home-care service providers. Data collection was carried out from January 2011 to July 2012 and data were analysed using grounded theory methods towards the identification of the overarching theme, 'provider education' and it had two sub-themes: (i) experiences of LGBTQ education; and (ii) recommendations for LGBTQ education. The study findings raise important questions about limited and uneven access to adequate LGBTQ education for home-care service providers, suggest important policy implications for the education and health sectors, and point to the need for anti-oppression principles in the development of education initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Social Work Review / Revue Canadienne de Service Social is the property of Canadian Association for Social Work Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: The healthcare environment reflects and embeds sociocultural norms, including heteronormativity. Coming out for sexual and gender minority (SGM) people is often a process of continual identity management. There is evidence that lesbian and gay people (LG), both patients and healthcare professionals, engage in significant emotional work to manage who they tell about their sexual identity, and when. This qualitative study explored the experiences of LG radiation therapists (RTs) managing their sexual identity at work, and how this impacts relationships with co-workers and patients., Methods: The research used an authoethnographic narrative inquiry approach. Narrative inquiry incorporates story-based methods to acquire a deep understanding of how individuals make sense of events. Autoethnography uses personal experience to understand and reflect on a broader culture. Three LG participants from a Canadian urban cancer centre worked with the researcher to co-construct stories of coming out at work using their shared personal histories., Results: The co-constructed stories included fictionalised narratives of coming out at work, relationships with patients/peers, the experiences of sexual minority patients and the researcher's accompanying embodied research journey. They were written in a variety of genres and from a number of different perspectives. The results showed the participants engaged in highly contextualised and continual identity management which depended on a series of different strategies or tools. Additionally, it was clear that both the discourse around professionalism, and the pervasive biomedical healthcare culture served to further inhibit disclosure at work. Purposeful disclosure to LG patients was uncommon., Conclusion: Coming out at work might be a risky business for some lesbian and gay RTs. However, focused attention on improving the work environment so RTs can be open about their identities in the professional setting would be beneficial for patients and staff., Implications for Practice: LG RTs who are out at work can be a source of support and comfort to SGM patients. They may also feel more satisfied and engaged at work. Organizations should ensure they provide overt support for SGM RTs from frontline staff to leadership roles., (Copyright © 2021 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Promoting health and well-being for older adults is a priority among many jurisdictions worldwide. Canada's population is aging and becoming increasingly diverse; one axis of a diverse aging population is aging members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S+) communities. We sought to examine the lived experiences of older LGBTQ2S+ people in Canada to understand the barriers and facilitators to healthy aging among members of these communities. A total of 10 focus groups were held in 10 cities from across Canada. Sixty-one older LGBTQ2S+ people (Mean age = 67) participated in the study. Data were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Through analysis, we identified themes related to the importance of community capacity, resources, resilience, and personal histories in shaping aging experiences. The findings highlight the importance acknowledging diverse sexual and gender identities and the role of the life course in developing and implementing approaches that promote healthy aging.

How do activists defend their opinions regarding uniformed police being celebrated in Pride parades? Twelve semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in Vancouver, Canada with six people who supported the celebration of uniformed police and six people unsupportive of uniformed police in Vancouver's Pride parade. Findings show four ways people frame their stance on uniformed police in Vancouver's Pride parade. Those who support a police presence justify their stance with two arguments: historical progress and the transnational versus local resonance of social movements. Activists who do not support the police invoke two different arguments: memory of historical marginalization, and pinkwashing. These findings show that people who support the police in Pride parades focus on positive social change that the LGBTQ community has achieved, while those who are against focus on the specific ongoing oppression of members of the LGBTQ community by the police.

Little is known about the lived experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer (LGBTQ) Muslims living in Canada. Using an intersectional theoretical perspective and a qualitative methodology, this paper examines key themes emerging in the stories of six LGBTQ Muslim women and men living in Canada. The key themes emerging in this research were the tension between perceived family obligations and religious values, the ambiguous relationship with Islam, and coping with mental health issues. The research points to the importance of understanding such experiences as occurring in a matrix of identities and processes, as postulated by intersectionality theory.

Introduction: Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) face significant health disparities and barriers to accessing care. Patients have reported provider lack of knowledge as one of the key barriers to culturally responsive, clinically competent care. Many US and Canadian medical schools still offer few curricular hours dedicated to LGBTQ-related topics, and medical students continue to feel unprepared to care for LGBTQ patients., Methods: We developed a 10-hour LGBTQ health curriculum for preclinical medical and physician assistant students. The curriculum included lectures and case-based small-group discussions covering LGBTQ terminology, inclusive sexual history taking, primary care and health maintenance, and transition-related care. It also included a panel discussion with LGBTQ community members and a small-group practice session with standardized patients. Students were surveyed before and after completing the curriculum to assess for increases in confidence and knowledge related to LGBTQ-specific care., Results: Forty first- and second-year medical students completed the sessions and provided valid responses on pre- and postcourse surveys. Nearly all students initially felt unprepared to sensitively elicit information, summarize special health needs and primary care recommendations, and identify community resources for LGBTQ individuals. There was significant improvement in students' confidence in meeting these objectives after completion of the five sessions. Knowledge of LGBTQ health issues increased minimally, but there was a significant increase in knowledge of LGBTQ-related terminology., Discussion: Our 10-hour LGBTQ health curriculum was effective at improving medical students' self-confidence in working with LGBTQ patients but was less effective at increasing LGBTQ-related medical knowledge., (© 2021 Minturn et al.)

Purpose: Using representative school-based data and community-level primary data, we investigated how environmental factors (e.g., school and community climate) might be protective against substance use behaviors among a vulnerable population of adolescents. Methods: We analyzed a sample of 2678 sexual minority adolescents using a combination of student-level data (British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey) and primary community-level data (assessing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ]-specific community and school environments). Using multilevel logistic regression models, we examined associations between lifetime substance use (alcohol, illegal drugs, marijuana, nonmedical use of prescription drugs, and smoking) and community-level predictors (community and school LGBTQ supportiveness). Results: Above and beyond student characteristics (e.g., age and years living in Canada), sexual minority adolescents residing in communities with more LGBTQ supports (i.e., more supportive climates) had lower odds of lifetime illegal drug use (for boys and girls), marijuana use (for girls), and smoking (for girls). Specifically, in communities with more frequent LGBTQ events (such as Pride events), the odds of substance use among sexual minority adolescents living in those communities was lower compared with their counterparts living in communities with fewer LGBTQ supports. Conclusions: The availability of LGBTQ community-level organizations, events, and programs may serve as protective factors for substance use among sexual minority adolescents. In particular, LGBTQ-supportive community factors were negatively associated with substance use, which has important implications for our investment in community programs, laws, and organizations that advance the visibility and rights of LGBTQ people.

Scant research has addressed health and well-being among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) persons in the Arctic. The Northwest Territories (NWT) has among Canada's highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). LGBTQ persons in NWT are at the nexus of LGBTQ and Arctic health disparities. Yet little is known of their sexual health needs. This qualitative study explored the sexual health needs of LGBTQ persons in the NWT. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 51 participants, including 16 LGBTQ youth aged 15-24, 21 LGBTQ adults aged 25 and above, and 14 key informants who worked with LGBTQ persons. Social-ecological approaches to understanding sexual health guided this study. Participants discussed how structural contexts such as heteronormativity in sexual health education and a lack of access to safer sex tools constrained their ability to practice safer sex. Social contexts of intersectional stigma resulted in shame, concealing identities, and fear of accessing safer sex materials. Myriad factors influenced partner communication about safer sex practices, including honesty, consent, and relationship power. Findings suggest the need for comprehensive sexuality education and interventions that address syndemics of substance use, stigma, and low self-esteem to advance sexual health among LGBTQ persons in Northern Canada.