In her own words: understanding the health needs of older lesbians

ABSTRACT

This project illuminates the unique struggles and barriers lesbians face. A community advisory board (CAB) was developed and 31 in-depth interviews were conducted with lesbians aged 56–84 in the Rocky Mountain region. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded using critical discourse analysis. Themes included: a culture of identity-hiding; lack of recognition and discrimination in health care; channeling passion, fear, and anger into action; concerns about aging; and identified health needs and opportunities. There is a need for innovative and equitable services that understand the barriers and struggles that older lesbian adults face so they can receive high-quality care.

KEYWORDS:

• Older lesbians
• lesbian health disparities
• lesbian health needs
• lesbian qualitative study

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the 31 women who participated in this project and shared a piece of their story.

Disclosure statement

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

Irb

The Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board approved this study June 7, 2019 (Protocol # 19-1217).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded in whole by GLMA’s Lesbian Health Fund;GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality [Lesbian Health Fund Grant];