Faculty Profile: Dr. Krystal Kittle

Krystal Kittle joined the Department of Health Promotion and Policy as an assistant professor of community health education this fall. Her research focuses on LGBTQIA+ aging and health.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your research.

I have a study called QCare (and translated into Spanish, Quidar). It focuses on dementia caregivers who also identify as a sexual or gender minority (SGM) and who also have a racial ethnic minority background. I felt it was important because dementia caregiver research, and even caregiver research in general, is largely made up of white samples even though we know there is a higher proportion of Latino and African-American caregivers. We also see a very high prevalence [of SGM caregivers] when we look at SGM versus non-SGM caregiving. The idea behind the study is to look at those multiple marginalized identities and how those influence the caregiving experience, and to analyze how socio-demographics and caregiving experiences are influencing physical and mental health.

Qcare is a three-year study and it’s halfway done. I’ve also done some secondary data analyses of some large population health surveys. Now I’m focusing on the qualitative piece of this project, which involves in-depth interviews with ethnic and racial minority SGM caregivers. It’s been a bit challenging to recruit authentic SGM people; since I’m new to the community, I’m trying to work closely with local community partners and really utilize the relationships other faculty members in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences have already made, especially in the more diverse communities in Holyoke and Springfield.

Q: Why did you want to study this topic specifically?

I’ve always been interested in SGM older adults. I’m a gerontologist. My PhD is in gerontology. As a student in my doctoral program, I saw a gap in the research. There was some literature on diversity and aging related to race, culture, and ethnicity but nothing on LGBTQIA+ people. With the population aging, it was really clear that it was a growing population and so I started looking at their healthcare disparities. During my post-doctoral program, I began wondering about caregivers. One colleague in particular had a small, convenient sample of 286 SGM dementia caregivers. Half of them identified as Latino, so we were able to look at Latino and non-Latino differences – and that set me on the path to studying all racial and ethnic minorities.

The need for dementia caregivers is only growing. Our healthcare system is really dependent on them so we need to learn how caregivers can be healthy as well, because their health is so crucial. Dementia isn’t going away. Those patients are dependent on their caregivers. There is not a lot of equality and knowledge about available supports. So, we are also trying to figure out what resources they know or don’t know about, and if so, why they don’t know about them. Also, we’re examining, what part of your identity is influencing your health the most?

Q: Why is it important to you to include the LGBTQIA+ community in your research?

Dementia caregivers have now surpassed cancer caregivers, but often, that job is being performed by family members. It’s a hard job. It’s taxing in many ways, physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. When we think about all of that and then compound it in vulnerable populations, it’s important to understand what mechanisms are driving these disparities. What’s really influencing health? What’s protecting it? Asking [the SGM community] to be included in our research is super important. If we don’t ask, it’s not going to happen, and we really need to know what their exact experiences are. Building this within the context of community-based participatory research helps provide that safety net for them to feel comfortable participating in the research.

Q: How has UMass created a safe place for your research and the LGBTQIA+ community?

This campus has been incredibly supportive of younger LGBTQIA+ folks on campus and has been really encouraging. There is a big support program on campus built into the Stonewall Center. Students are not only empowered to do well in school but to thrive in the community at large in this area.

We here in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences who identify as SGM and care about this type of research are working on building a presence and making it clear to students that they have a place to do the kind of research that they care about and that affects them. When students go and search for PhD programs and put in those keywords it can be really encouraging and uplifting to know that you will be surrounded by faculty who are very supportive of you and your identities while doing research that can be super impactful personally.

I’m appreciative of the department as a whole for wanting to diversify the faculty and it was a selling point for me to join. I have been in the area of LGBTQIA+ health for a long time; I’m so happy I was chosen for that. It seems the school is very aware of the importance of this area of research. In the future, I look forward to designing a course that I hope diverse students, especially those who are LGBTQIA+, are excited to take.

Western Massachusetts is so progressive in general. There are still some challenges, but compared to other places it still blows my mind the presence of queer people here. It’s so obvious, in what people talk about, it’s very uplifting and encouraging.