“THAT’S MY PLAN. LET’S HOPE THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS:” LGBTQ OLDER WOMEN’S EXPECTATIONS AND DESIRES FOR END-OF-LIFE CARE

• Published in: Innovation in aging Vol. 2; no. suppl_1; p. 65
• Main Author: Valenti, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 11.11.2018
• Subjects: Abstracts
• ISSN: 2399-5300; 2399-5300
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.243

A PRISMA-guided systematic review of 16 peer-reviewed studies of seriously-ill older LGBTQ women (944 initial results), revealed a need for further research seeking to gain insight into the population’s expectations and desires for palliative and EOL care. Existing evidence has only been explicit in a marginal number of studies; the majority of studies focused largely on LGBTQ people of all ages, lesbian/gay men collectively, or bereaved partners, not affording LGBTQ older women their own significant voice. Studies which did include LGBTQ women’s voices identified participants’ distinct desire to include rituals/rites of passage at EOL, to be participatory in the EOL experience, and to have hospice and alternative medicine available as substitutes for traditional care options. Examination of the expectations and desires of this population may unearth why specific rituals, rites of passage, participation, and environment are important in order to design person-centered interventions for effective palliative and EOL care.