The senior population in the United States is booming and with it an increase in older adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning. Many older adults and seniors will find themselves in need of some type of care later in life, either in home health, assisted living, skilled nursing or hospice.
The aging LGBTQ+ population has known health disparities as well as experiences of bias, stigma and discrimination. Many individuals fear these will follow them into care when they need it the most – during their last few years of life. This is not to say that senior care staff will mistreat those in their care. In fact, most providers go out of their way making commitments to good quality of care. The type of bias that may affect care and services is not always conscious, but unconscious or implicit.
It is therefore important for healthcare professionals and caregivers to address their own internal biases towards people who identify as LGBTQ+, so they don’t contribute to increased disparities in health and quality of care. Such disparities are associated with earlier health service experiences by the LGBTQ+ community. They may have had such a negative experience with a healthcare professional that they stopped going to annual checkups. Perhaps they experienced perceived discrimination, but it was powerful enough for them to end preventive care.
Professional caregivers should be made aware of the experiences of the LGBTQ+ senior population in order to better understand their current physical and mental health status. This can take place with a sound training program aimed at focusing on one’s implicit biases, negative stereotypes and the lived experiences of people they are caring for in the senior community.
It has been found in the research that even brief training can make a difference and reduce bias. Training programs can include education about the LGBTQ+ community, aging, unique physical and mental health needs, and how to gain trust in a caring relationship. It can also include promoting contact with LGBTQ+ individuals and experiencing intergroup contact in the real world.
Everyone has biases. They are learned and reinforced throughout one’s lifetime. Healthcare professionals, though, must do their best to become more self-aware of their implicit biases because they are in the business of caring and delivering much needed services to an aging population in need. High quality care has no room for discrimination, stereotypical thinking or biases of any kind.