According to SAGE USA, a national LGBTQ advocacy and services organization for older adults, LGBTQ elders are 2 times as likely to be single and live alone than straight elders. 59% of LGBTQ elders report feeling a lack of companionship and 53% report being isolated. 23% of trans folks have reported avoiding going to a doctor when they needed to, because they were fearful of mistreatment. 

These numbers are a drop in the bucket. When it comes to healthcare and healthcare for LGBTQ elders, the numbers are far worse than they are for straight elders. There are a number of reasons for this, but none is because we can’t fix it. Rather, we choose not to. 

In this episode, I’m talking to Dr. Carey Candrian, an associate professor of medicine at University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. She has studied and is a leading voice on LGBTQ elder healthcare and healthcare outcomes. 

We talk about discrimination in healthcare and the healthcare system, disparities in health outcomes between LGBTQ elders and straight elders, how to respectfully and effectively collect personal LGBTQ data, the limits to healthcare policy in righting past wrongs, the impact that hiding your identity has on your health and health outcomes, and what we might expect on the long term health of queer people, particularly trans folks, as a result of the sustained attack on the LGBTQ community.

Mentioned:
GLMA

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Majestic Earth - Joystock