Abstract A063: Feasibility and acceptability of an online LGBT cultural competency training for oncologists: The COLORS training
Authors: Seay Julia S. , Schabath Matthew , Hicks Amanda , Markham Merry-Jennifer , Schlumbrecht Matthew , Bowman Meghan , Woodard Jennifer , Arana Neysari , Quinn Gwendolyn 
Published: August 2020

Background: LGBT cancer survivors experience substantial disparities in cancer survivorship outcomes, including poorer overall health and lower satisfaction with their oncology care. Researchers and clinicians have called for increased LGBT competency training among oncologists to address health disparities within these underserved communities; however, presently there are few medical schools that require such training. Further, while some general LGBT cultural competency trainings are available, to date, no trainings are tailored to the needs of oncologists specifically. Recently our multi-institutional team developed an interactive online LGBT cultural competency training for oncologists (Curriculum for Oncologists on LGBT populations to Optimize Relevance and Skills [COLORS) and is now piloting the training among oncologists within three cancer centers in the state of Florida.

Methods: The development of the online LGBT cultural competency training involved substantial input from LGBT community members and advocates. The training modules included both general and oncology-specific content. After the online training website was finalized, we recruited oncologists from Moffitt, Sylvester, and UF Health Cancer Centers to participate in the training and provide feedback via self-administered questionnaire. Here we report descriptive data on participant sociodemographic characteristics, pre- and post-training LGBT-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, as well as participant evaluations of the online LGBT cultural competency training. As the study is ongoing, formal significance testing regarding pre-post changes is forthcoming.

Results: To date, 20 oncologists, ages 38-71 (30% women; 30% Asian, 5% Black, 60% White, 5% Middle Eastern; 10% Hispanic; 75% cisgender and heterosexual) have completed the training. Pre-training knowledge was low among participants, with only 33% of participants answering &gt;90% of knowledge items correctly. Participant knowledge increased following training completion, with 85% of participants answering &gt;90% of knowledge items correctly. Similarly, changes in attitudes were mostly positive among participants, with 70% of participants reporting an increase in favorable perspectives toward LGBT people after completing the training. Moreover, 80% of participants reported increasing their endorsement of LGBT-serving clinical practices after completing the training. Overall, oncologist evaluations of the training were favorable, with 90% rating the training as either “excellent” or “very good,” and 95% stating they would refer another oncologist to the training.

Conclusion: These pilot study results indicate online LGBT cultural competency training may be both feasible and acceptable for oncologists. Our findings will support a larger project to formally evaluate the effectiveness of this training in improving oncologist knowledge, attitudes, and practices, as well as survivorship outcomes for LGBT patients.

Citation Format: Julia S. Seay, Matthew Schabath, Amanda Hicks, Merry-Jennifer Markham, Matthew Schlumbrecht, Meghan Bowman, Jennifer Woodard, Neysari Arana, Gwendolyn Quinn. Feasibility and acceptability of an online LGBT cultural competency training for oncologists: The COLORS training [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A063.