Terms of Reference for Community Guiding Circle (CGC)

Study on Chronic Health, Aging, Healthcare Access, and Wellbeing among 2S/LGBTQIA+ Older Adults in Canada

Background:

This Elder-led, community-based mixed-methods study aims to address gaps in research about 2S/LGBTQIA+ older adults in Canada. This will be done by generating new evidence on chronic health and wholistic wellbeing and co-developing scalable interventions to strengthen social connection, mental wellbeing, and access to affirming, culturally safe, and disability-accessible care for 2S/LGBTQIA+ older adults across Canada.

Principal Investigator:

Dr. Rusty Souleymanov, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba. E-Mail: rusty.souleymanov@umanitoba.ca

Community Guiding Circle Eligibility

The CGC (consisting of 15-20 people) who self-identify as part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and gender minorities) community over the age of 55 and live in Canada. Priority recruitment will be given to applicants who identify as any of the following:

• Two-Spirit and Indigenous Elders

o Especially those who speak Indigenous languages

• Trans and non-binary older adults

o Especially trans femme/trans women

• Racialized communities

• Religious minorities

• Rural and Northern residents

• Francophone people

• People living with disability or chronic illness

• Newcomers

Unfortunately, we can’t recruit every person who is interested in participating in this project. Recruitment decisions will be informed by the need to develop a representative and diverse community guidance circle for this project. A decision to not recruit someone is not personal and is not a negative assessment of a person’s value or their contributions.

Community Guiding Circle’s Role and Purpose

The CGC will advise the research team on the following aspects of the project:

• Topics to be explored across the research project

• Promotion and recruitment strategies

• Analysis and interpretation of data

• Strategies to address community issues and concerns

Feedback, input and advice from the CGC will help to ensure that:

• The research project is culturally appropriate for the diverse communities we are working with.

• The research project is in service of the needs and interests of the communities we are working with.

• The knowledge developed through the research project is shared appropriately with those who will benefit, including community members and service providers.

• Plans associated with the research project receive community input and reflect the needs and concerns of the community.

The Research Team, primarily the Principal Investigator, has overall responsibility for the study These responsibilities include budget and overall project management; promotion and recruitment; data collection (online survey, focus groups/interviews); data analysis; ethical standards; reports to the funder (Canadian Institutes for Health Research); final report and other dissemination activities.

Schedule of CGC meetings

CGC meetings will include CGC members, Principal Investigator, and members of the research team. The CGC will meet on an as-needed basis or quarterly, depending on the phase of the research project. The meetings will be approximately two hours in length and will be held via teleconference/web-based technology. This study is a four-year project (2026-2030).

Honorariums

CGC members will be provided a $100 honorarium for each meeting.

Contact

Mikayla Hunter mikayla.hunter@umanitoba.ca and Jordan Anglin (Bilingual Research Assistant) at jordan.anglin@umanitoba.ca