Research
Out Boulder County relies on data to inform our programs, priorities, and advocacy. Our research program has developed in response to the need to better understand our community as well as to drive our advocacy efforts.
The LGBTQ+ communities we serve are often left out of research. Without data, disparities are ignored. In response to this, we contribute to filling this data gap by conducting our own research, sharing our findings, and advocating for broader inclusion of LGBTQ+ communities in research.
Our research program brings attention to LGBTQ+ experiences and inequities to inform our own work as a community organization, as well as to inspire wider action locally and nationally.
A special thank you to our community members who contribute to our research efforts by participating in surveys and data collection!
Table of Contents
Research Presentations for the National LGBTQ Health Conference (2022)
Colorado Youth & Young Adult COVID-19 Vaccine Survey (2021)
LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Impacts Survey (2021)
COVID-19 Vaccine Survey (2021)
COVID-19 Surveys of the LGBTQ+ Communities in Boulder County (2020)
LGBTQ+ Community Survey (2018)
LGBTQ Boulder County Survey (2010)
Survey of the GLBT Community of Boulder County (1997)
Previous Research Partners and Funders
Research Presentations for the National LGBTQ Health Conference
This weekend, Out Boulder County is giving two presentations at the National LGBTQ Health Conference about some of our recent research! We initiated these research studies due to a lack of information available to us during the COVID-19 pandemic so that we would be able to share information with key community partners and develop our programmatic response to best meet the most pressing needs of the LGBTQ+ community.
Thank you to our research partner, Unwoven Collective. Learn more about their work here: https://www.unwovencollective.com/
Colorado Youth & Young Adult COVID-19 Vaccine Survey (2021)
Data Collection Period: August-October 2021
Report Published: December 2021
Number of valid responses: 420
Study Area: Vaccination rates, perceptions (acceptance, hesitancy, and resistance), and barriers to vaccinations among youth (aged 12-17 years) and young adults (aged 18-24 years) with special attention to the following identities: LGBTQ+, BIPOC, primary Spanish-speakers, neurodivergence, disability, and economic disadvantage.
At the time this survey was designed in collaboration with adult staff and hired youth interns, there were no state or county data on vaccination rates of youth and young adults belonging to historically marginalized groups.
Funded by: Together We Protect - Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund
LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Impacts Survey (2021)
Data Collection Period: April-May, 2021
Report Published: June 2021
Number of valid responses: 297
Study Area: A follow up study to OBC’s January 2021 COVID Vaccine Survey and OBC’s COVID Impacts Surveys conducted in March and April 2020 with additional questions related to vaccine uptake, different vaccine brands, and the physical, mental health, and economic impacts of the pandemic.
Funded by: Together We Protect - Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund
COVID-19 Vaccine Survey (2021)
The first study of LGBTQ+ vaccine hesitancy in the US (as far as we know.)
Data Collection Period: December 17, 2020-January 7, 2021
Report Published: January 2021
Number of Valid Responses: 272
Study Area: Vaccination perceptions, barriers to vaccination, additional desired information, flu vaccine uptake. This survey was designed to support Boulder County Public Health, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment and OBC better understand the perspectives and needs of the LGBTQ+ community with respect to the COVID vaccine.
Designed, analyzed & reported by Kaylin Gray, Ph.D.
COVID-19 Surveys of the LGBTQ+ Communities in Boulder County (2020)
Data Collection Period: March 18-27, 2020 and April 13-27, 2020
Report Published: May 202
Number of Valid Responses: 89 and 69, respectively
Study Area: The first survey provided preliminary information about the status of the community at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second survey included more detailed questions and was designed to gauge the changing effects of the quarantine on local LGBTQ+ community members. The goal of the survey was a shorter turnaround time to inform our organizational decisions and responses rather than to create a fully detailed picture of COVID-19’s true impact on local LGBTQ+ community members.
LGBTQ+ Community Survey (2018)
Data Collection Period: 2018
Report Published: 2019
Number of Valid Responses: 453
Study Area: demographics, socioeconomics, perceptions of the local community, community engagement and social connections, religious and spiritual life, experience of discrimination and bias incidents, physical and mental well-being, and access to appropriate healthcare services.
LGBTQ Boulder County Survey (2010)
Data Collection Period: March-May, 2010
Report Published: 2010
Number of Valid Responses: 292
Study Area: The survey applied to LGBT people who work or live in Boulder County. Its purpose was to help the Open Door Fund Advisory Committee know about the local LGBT community and its needs.
Conducted by: The Open Door Fund Advisory Committee, part of the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County
Survey of the GLBT Community of Boulder County (1997)
Data Collection Period: January-February 1997
Report Published: 1997
Number of Valid Responses: “close to 500”
Study Area: describe the GLBT community and to assess the needs of GLBT residents of Boulder County
Funded by: National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership to the Open Door Fund of the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County
Previous Research Partners and Funders
Unwoven Collective
University of Colorado-Boulder Department of Education
Vermillion Design & Digital
NextFifty Initiative
City of Boulder
Boulder County
The Open Door Fund of the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County
Together We Protect - Colorado's COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund