Dr. Irene Tami-Maury, an assistant professor with the UT Health Science Center’s School of Public Health in Houston, and her assistant Bilal Kahn are looking for LGBTQ people to participate in the anonymous and ongoing PRIDE Study to “better prevent and control cancer among lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people.”

Participants must be LGBT+ community, be at least 18 years old, live in Texas and be able to read English and/or Spanish.

Kahn explained, “Our project aims at identifying lifestyle and related risk factors for chronic conditions, including cancer, among self-identified LGBTQ+ individuals.”

He said data for the study have been collected “among sexual and gender minority groups since 2014 at the Houston Pride Festival, using an anonymous paper-and-pen survey.” This year, however, that process was stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic i, which forced the cancellation of in-person Pride events.

As a result, Kahn said, “our team is not only working on shifting from a face-to-face format to an online survey, but also expanding the reach from Houston to the entire state of Texas. Our findings will be critical for designing and implementing SGM-tailored interventions and educational programs for preventing and controlling chronic conditions among this at-risk population.”

Dr, Tami-Maury also noted that her team will, in a few months, be designing and launching “a text-based smoking cessation program, and we will need input from the LGBTQ+ community. We will also have group discussions with transgender friends for developing a tobacco prevention and control program that responds to their needs.

We are also analyzing a large database to assess the impact of electronic cigarette use among LGBTQ+ teens and young adults in Texas,” she said.

To participate in the ongoing PRIDE Study, go to go.uth.edu/pridestudy for the English survey or go.uth.edu/LGBT for the Spanish survey.

— Tammye Nash