A Community-Engaged Systems Approach to Safer Primary Healthcare Spaces for Rural LGBTQA+ Youth

Monday, July 20, 2026, 11:00 AM

Session: SOC Poster Session (Overflow) (In-person)

Robust evidence documents persistent health and social disparities affecting LGBTQA+ populations. However, most research focuses on adults and non-Australian contexts. Emerging Australian evidence indicates compounded inequities for rural LGBTQA+ youth, including limited access to safe quality healthcare. This study therefore applies a community-based system dynamics (CBSD) to co-design safer primary healthcare spaces (S-PHC-S) with rural LGBTQA+ youth in Western Victoria, Australia, and identify the dynamics shaping S-PHC-S. Rural LGBTQA+ youth aged 12-25 and system collaborators across Western Victoria will create a causal loop diagram of S-PHC-S in group model building workshops, which will be translated into a quantitative simulation model, informed by empirical data, a systematic review and further community engagement to test the dynamic hypothesis and strategies to improve the safety of PHC spaces. A preliminary reference mode of PHC safety was developed and recruitment began in February 2026 through trusted networks. By co-designing S-PHC-S through an innovative community-engaged systems approach, this project addresses LGBTQA+ healthcare disparities and provides guidance for community-informed systems change in healthcare while laying the groundwork for future community-engaged systems approaches with LGBTQA+ rural youth.