Precarious partnerships: Designing a community needs assessment to develop a system of care for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) youths
Craig, S. L. (2011). Precarious partnerships: Designing a community needs assessment to develop a system of care for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) youth. Journal of Community Practice, 19, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2011.595301
Highlights
Background
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) youth are at increased risk for psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide; discrimination and harassment from peers; and rejection from family.
Given that these stressors permeate all areas of GLBTQ youth, it is important to conduct research that can directly impact these minority stressors through the design of wraparound services.
Study Description
This article examines the systematic research stages in the implementation of a community needs assessment (CNA) developed in collaboration with local agencies (a service partnership).
utilizing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) design, this mixed-methods CNA conducted county-wide data collection from youth, caregivers, teachers, mental health and healthcare providers to create a continuum of care for LGBTQ+ youth.
The aim was to create a system of care for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) youths in an urban area.
Key findings
CNAs using CBPR should include four sequential steps that inform the following research stages: key informant interviews, focus groups, surveys and community feedback as identified in the model.
Researchers conducting CNAs need to prepare for challenges that are similar to those encountered during this research project including: 1) identifying the target population, 2) identifying and prioritizing needs, and 3) competing agendas between agencies.
The CNA consisted of four primary stages:
