The LGBTQ+ Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study, or "Q-SNAPS" seeks to to understand health, aging, and the relationships that older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming adults in the US South draw on for support. Unlike some other studies, Q-SNAPS is comprised entirely of LGBTQ+ people to better understand our own communities and more fully represent differences in experience, health, and aging trajectories across our many identities and life trajectories.
With the information from Q-SNAPS participants, we aim to better identify the sources of stress and resilience for LGBTQ+ people in the South, and the ways that members of our community thrive, connect to others, and respond to life events. We have also been able to expand the study to include collection of biological data, like blood and DNA, through our BioAge and Cognitive Games extensions to capture additional information about how we are aging.
Participants responses have already helped us understand more about the aging experiences of LGBTQ+ adults in the US South. Check out some of the findings from the study to date here. We’ve also used the information that participants provided to help state and local governments and community organizations better serve the needs of people in the study during the COVID pandemic.
This study is being conducted by and for our community with the support of the National Institutes of Health, Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas, Austin . The study has been approved by the Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research.
If you are a current participant and need to get in touch, check out our information page for you here.
If you are a researcher interested in using Q-SNAPS data, please check out the restrictions and requirements here.
Note: Q-SNAPS was previously named the Vanderbilt University Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study, or VUSNAPS. We have renamed the study due to our expanding interests and team, and recent concerns about data privacy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
