Perspectives of LGBTQ Older Adults on Aging in Place: A Qualitative Investigation

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study conducted by a community-research partnership used multiple types of data collection to examine variables relevant for LGBTQ older adults who wished to age in place in their urban Denver neighborhood. Focus groups, interviews, and a town hall meeting were used to identify barriers and supports to aging in place. Participants (N = 73) identified primarily as lesbian or gay, aged 50–69, and lived with a partner. Ageism, heterosexism, and cisgenderism emerged as cross-cutting themes that negatively impact access to health care, housing, social support, home assistance, and legal services. Resilience from weathering a lifetime of discrimination was identified as a strength to handle aging challenges. Recommendations for establishing an aging in place model included establishing welcoming communities and resource centers and increasing cultural competence of service providers. This study provides a unique contribution to understanding the psychosocial, medical, and legal barriers for successfully aging in place.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging in place
• community-based participatory research
• community-research partnership
• LGBTQ
• older adults
• qualitative methods

Acknowledgments

We want to wholeheartedly thank all LGBTQ community members who offered their insightful input as participants for this investigation. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the support of additional SUSTAIN community partners: Debra Angell, Kay Gilchrist, Carlos Martinez, Rene Hickman, William Lundgren, and Shari Wilkins. Finally, we would like to dedicate this work to the late Cathy Grimm. Cathy was a tireless advocate and leader in the development of aging in place models as the Director of Senior Solutions at Jewish Family Service. Cathy was a founding partner of SUSTAIN who was integral in finding and engaging community members across multiple disciplines.

Funding

This work was supported by NIH/NCATS Colorado CTSI Grant Number UL1 TR000154. Contents are the authors’ sole responsibility and do not necessarily represent official NIH views.

Notes

^1. A note on terminology: The terminology used to describe the LGBTQ community is constantly evolving. Many terms used by older adults to describe their gender identity or sexual orientation are different from terminology used by younger generations or in academic literature. A recent survey of older and younger LGBTQ community members found that older females tended to use the term gay to describe themselves, whereas younger females described themselves as lesbian (De Vries, 2014). Older men tended to describe themselves as homosexual, whereas younger men used gay or queer. Our study was limited to only a few individuals who identified themselves as transgender, none identified as intersex, and no participants used the term heterosexism or cisgender to explain their experience. However, the research team later assigned the term cisgenderism to describe discrimination encountered by a transgender participant from another person who was unaccepting of their non-cisgender behavior (i.e., an appearance that is not homogenously female or male).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by NIH/NCATS Colorado CTSI Grant Number UL1 TR000154. Contents are the authors’ sole responsibility and do not necessarily represent official NIH views.