The provision of healthcare services to older LGBT adults in the Nordic countries: a scoping review

OBJECTIVES

Our objectives were to examine what is known about the provision of healthcare services to older LGBT adults in the Nordic countries, identify knowledge gaps, map implications of this research for the education of healthcare professionals and delivery of healthcare, and identify key future research priorities to advance policy and practice for older LGBT adults in this region.

DESIGN

We conducted searches in nine databases. Peer-reviewed articles and PhD theses published in and after 2002 written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish languages were included. 41 studies met our inclusion criteria. However, only eight of these studies focused specifically on older LGBT adults. Therefore, to answer all research questions, five book chapters about older groups were also included.

RESULTS

There were few studies from countries other than Sweden and few quantitative studies. Bisexual people represented a neglected group in research. The studies included showed that healthcare personnel lack knowledge on LGBT issues, particularly about older LGBT adults and non-binary gender identification. Older LGBT adults frequently reported being met with cis- and heteronormative expectations in healthcare encounters. For transgender people, access to medical treatment has been managed by gatekeepers influenced by a binary understanding of gender.

CONCLUSIONS

Relevant measures to enhance practices are increased attention on LGBT issues in education; training of healthcare professionals; measures at the institutional level; and ensuring that transgender people identifying as non-binary receive the same quality of care as individuals identifying in a binary way.

Subcultural Spaces: LGBTQ Aging in a Swedish Context

This study takes its starting point in the Swedish context to explore experiences of community among older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) adults. Using life story interviews with 33 self-identified LGBTQ older adults between the ages of 59 to 94 years, our aim is to explore meanings of community, belonging, and subcultural spaces at different times and in different ages. How are narratives of finding, entering, and creating subcultural spaces described, and how does time and geographical context play into these experiences in particular? What is it like to age within these communities and to enter these queer spaces later in life? This analysis illustrates how old age can be a disadvantage for entering or participating in queer subcultures, especially when it comes to dating, but the results also point to how old age can be something adding to one's social capital within these subcultures. Further, results suggest that it is important to take social, cultural, and economic resources into account when analyzing community and relationships among older LGBTQ people.