Abstract

Estimates consistently state that by 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be age 65 and older, a total of 70 million elders [1,2]. Within this group, older LGBT persons are predicted to number 1.75 to 3.5 million, “with approximately 500,000 gay men and lesbians turning age 50 each year” [1,3]. Goldsen & Kim [4] report an estimate of more than 2.4 million adults in the United States ages 50 and older identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Cultural ageism and heterosexism, along with fear of discrimination at the hands of health care providers in inpatient and outpatient, short-term as well as long-term care settings, can and often do have a direct negative effect on the quality of life of older LGBT persons [1,3,5].