Expectations of later life support among lesbian and gay Queenslanders

Abstract

To examine lesbian and gay people's expectations of support, socialising and cohabitation in older age. The study involved secondary data analysis of a subsample of 371 lesbian and gay people taken from a survey conducted by the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities. Lesbian and gay people expected to receive support from diverse sources, including same-sex partners, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends and heterosexual friends. Women were more likely to expect to receive support from others than men, and men were more likely to expect to live alone in later life. Aged care providers need to be responsive to the different sources of support that may be provided to older lesbian and gay people. Services that are lesbian- and gay-friendly may facilitate service uptake and reduce pressures on lesbian and gay people's informal networks of support.