Considerations for Sexuality Education and Services for LGB Elders

Abstract

Sexuality education and health services for elderly individuals who reside in care settings (e.g., assisted living facilities, nursing homes, retirement communities) have received limited attention in the professional literature. However, the lack of sexual health promotion practices in elder care facilities can be detrimental to older adults’ overall health and quality of life. Barriers to sexuality education services for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) elders are explored and include history of LGB equality in the United States and lack of social support, as well as discrimination among formal care facilities and health care professionals. The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is proposed for addressing these barriers. The purpose of the CRM is to assess readiness characteristics of a community before program implementation and then build capacity with programming in that community for support and education. Sexuality educators currently have the opportunity to develop and implement sexual health education and promotion resources that can potentially improve the quality of life for LGB individuals transitioning into the latter stages of the life course.