Abstract C006: Understanding barriers to low HPV vaccination in the LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles: Collecting neighborhood-level data at pride events

Abstract Background The uptake of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine and anal cancer screening remain low among LGBTQ+ communities, especially in Los Angeles County. The LA metropolitan area has the nation’s second largest LGBTQA+ community, with an estimated 523,000 persons representing intersectional identities including the racial and ethnic diversity within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary and questioning. Significant barriers to vaccination and screening exist, including inadequate knowledge, reluctance to disclose personal information, fear of a cancer diagnosis, and conflicting messages. Methods Cedars Sinai Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) created the Transgender Research Advisory Committee (T-RAC), a subcommittee of our Community Advisory Board, and facilitated bi-directional engagement with the research team to ensure that voices of the community were included in each phase of designing an intervention to increase HPV vaccination. T-RAC has n=8 members representing LGBTQ+ patients, advocates, and community navigators and their roles include: (1) weigh in on all materials development for community audiences, recruitment and research implementation strategies; (2) review the progress of study; (3) provide guidance on developments in the community; (4) contribute to interpretation of study findings; and (5) participate in dissemination of study findings. Results With T-RAC’s advice, a needs assessment survey was developed, and data was collected at Long Beach Pride on May 2024 with N=205 survey respondents. While 82% have heard about HPV, only 48% were vaccinated with at least one dose and only 12% completed all three doses. Among those who have not completed the HPV vaccine series (n=177), 33% are in interested in getting the vaccine, 55% prefer a mobile health clinic, and 70% would be vaccinated at Pride events. Qualitative responses indicated the following barriers to getting screened: “not ready”, “need more information”, “prefer a health provider”, and “unsure about side effects”. For those interested, a mobile health clinic was available during Pride event and N=16 people were vaccinated. Conclusion More outreach, education and engagement are needed to address barriers and low uptake of the HPV vaccine among LGBTQ+. Further, this initiative has led to the application for Research Program Project Grants (P01) and plans to launch a health education initiative, EndHPV, along with continuing to make mobile health clinics available at Pride events throughout Los Angeles County. The role of T-RAC has been instrumental in catalyzing gender-affirming interventions that directly address the unique needs and challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and promote equitable access to services for all. Citation Format: Alex Caro, Victor Cristanto, Richard Zaldivar, Marc Goodman, Reener Balingit, Zul Surani. Understanding barriers to low HPV vaccination in the LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles: Collecting neighborhood-level data at pride events abstract. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr C006.