Senior sexual and gender minorities’ perception of healthcare services: A phenomenological approach

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to explore the sexual and gender minority seniors’ experience and perception of healthcare services. A phenomenological focus group study was conducted by interviewing members of a local LGBT seniors’ organization in the Northeastern USA. The results of the exploratory research study are threefold. First, the participants were not particularly concerned about the everyday interaction with their healthcare providers, finding their gender and sexuality irrelevant to their daily healthcare visits. Second, they were worried about their financial stability and future on account of covering healthcare costs. This is partly because they have less income and family support compared to the general population. Third, the most important shared concern was whether the long-term healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes, would be culturally competent. The findings of current research also highlight that participants were not aware of any particular facility that is inclusive of all gender and sexual identities. In conclusion, long-term healthcare facilities (e.g. nursing homes, assisted-living facilities) should invest in the inclusiveness training of their employees. Also, healthcare facilities could benefit from emphasizing the inclusiveness of their facility in their communications to this profile. Theoretical and managerial implications, and future research opportunities are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBT seniors
• sexual and gender minorities
• LGBT
• older consumers
• seniors
• healthcare

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Due to the variety of interpretations for the constructs of interest, in the current research the following working definitions for several terms are used: LGBT is defined as “the broad spectrum of sexual and gender minorities (e.g., persons either not cisgender, not heterosexual-identified, or not having exclusively opposite-gender partners)” [1]. Sexual and gender minorities are commonly defined as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). The terms “seniors” and “older consumers” interchangeably defined as age 60 or older [2].

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ilgım Dara Benoit

Ilgım Dara Benoit, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at the Appalachian State University. She received her PhD in marketing from Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016.

Elika Kordrostami

Elika Kordrostami, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing and Business Information System at Rowan University. She completed her PhD in Marketing at Old Dominion University.

Jeff Foreman

Jeff Foreman, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at the Appalachian State University. He received his PhD in Marketing at Georgia State University.