Interventions for LGBTQ+ Youth: A Scoping Review to Support Occupational Therapy Practice in the United States

Background: Youth in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and other dissident genders and sexualities (LGBTQ+) community face extensive health disparities and dynamic political landscapes. Occupational therapy (OT) has potential to support LGBTQ+ youth; however, there is limited guidance for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants seeking to implement evidence-based interventions with this population. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review was to examine interventions within the scope of OT to support LGBTQ+ youth. Method: We used Arksey and O'Malley’s framework to guide this scoping review and searched five databases: PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Using Covidence, we included peer-reviewed studies conducted in the United States that used interventions within the scope of OT with LGBTQ+ youth. Studies were thematically organized based on intervention type. Results: Thirty studies were included with only one study evaluating an OT intervention and the remaining being within the scope of OT. Five intervention types were highlighted: psychosocial, activity-based, sexual health, camp-based, and employment-focused. Psychosocial interventions were the most common and levels of evidence varied across studies. Conclusion: Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants can support LGBTQ+ youth through select interventions of various rigor. Future research is needed to develop OT-driven and occupation-centered interventions for LGBTQ+ youth.