Specifying Long-Term Care Provider Responsiveness to LGBT Older Adults

Abstract

In-depth interviews and focus groups with lesbian, gay, and transgender older adults addressed the question “What does it mean for long-term care providers to be responsive to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults?” Sixteen domains of long-term care provider responsiveness to LGBT older adults were identified, including awareness of centrality of partners, knowledge of importance of preferred gender expression, openness to welcoming LGBT older adults, and ability to create LGBT-safe environments. Future research should include LGBT elders who belong to ethnic minority groups, bisexual elders, and LGBT older adults who do not identify with LGBT labels.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBT older adults
• aging
• long-term care
• transgender
• gay
• cultural competence

Notes

1. Morrow (2001) describes heterosexism as the belief that heterosexual identities are superior to other sexual orientations, and homophobia as an emotive and attitudinal reaction to that belief.

2. Adelman et al. (2009) describes transphobia as fear and prejudice toward those who fall under the broad umbrella of “transgender” (i.e., transgender, transsexual, cross-dressing, and other gender-variant people).

3. Beeler, Rawls, Herdt, and Cohler (1999) emphasize that there is substantial diversity in the support systems of LGB older adults because some LGB elders spent part of their younger lives in heterosexual relationships that resulted in children, who may be of assistance for their elder parents.

4. Other organizations have developed training curriculums. These include Openhouse, a housing and social service community for LGBT elders in San Francisco; Project Visibility in Colorado; the LGBT Aging Project in Massachusetts; and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

5. SAGE's National Resource Center on LGBT Aging also makes the outcomes of its cultural competency trainings available online.

6. While the author is aware that many may reject the gender binary, this was not a view expressed in these interviews. Only male and female pronouns were used by participants.