Creating Inclusive Residential Care for LGBTQ+ Elders
Older LGBTQ+ people in care
At least 1.5 million people in the UK identify as LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer). They may have a greater need to access social care, specifically residential care, as they are more likely to live alone.
Research shows that older people who are LGBTQ+ experience discrimination when they use social care services, including residential care homes. During public consultation conversations, LGBTQ+ people told us that they are worried about going into residential care.
This is an ongoing issue and raises some important questions on how we can create more inclusive care models. Researchers from the University of Kent, Centre for Health Services Studies, led by Jolie Keemink, a leading researcher in this field, aims to address some of these questions in the CIRCLE study (Creating Inclusive Residential Care for LGBTQ+ Elders).
Co-designing a free-resource
As part of the CIRCLE project, the team along with experts with lived experience and those that work in the sector, have co-designed a free resource for residential care homes to use. The aim of the resource is to introduce the key principles of LGBTQ+ inclusive practice and to highlight the benefits of investing in a full inclusive practice programme.
This resource is action-focused, meaning that it will emphasize the ‘how’ of inclusive practice. It will provide practical advice on changes to residential care practice that are easy and affordable to implement, and will make a positive difference to the experience of LGBTQ+ inclusion.
This event will officially launch the new resource, and the co-design team will be presenting on the content and how we got to the final end product.
Tickets and further information
This free event will be held on Zoom, please sign up to receive the link.
If you have any questions, please contact Jolie Keemink on j.r.keemink@kent.ac.uk.
A research study, funded by the National Institute of Health & Care Research, Applied Research Collaboration Kent Surrey Sussex
