The National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) – the leading national organization working to improve the lives of Hispanic older adults, their families, and caregivers, in partnership with Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) – today released the report of its national study on the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Hispanic older adults during a press conference on at The SAGE Center in New York, NY. The study, entitled In Their Own Words: a Needs Assessment of Hispanic LGBT Older Adults, was conducted by NHCOA, with financial support from the Arcus Foundation, and is released in collaboration with Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and the Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC). Both NHCOA and SAGE are founding members of the DEC.
The report is a result of a qualitative needs assessment that NHCOA conducted in order to better understand the experiences of aging, and the socio-economic and health challenges facing the LGBT Hispanic older adult community. Specifically, the research focused on understanding LGBT Hispanic older adults’ perceptions of the aging experience; identifying their unique health and socio-economic challenges; exploring the culturally appropriate strategies to better serve this population; and determining gaps in knowledge requiring further research.
The study and report are particularly important, as they are the first to focus exclusively on LGBT Hispanic older adults and the particular concerns that they face while aging. NHCOA will use the findings of this report to improve the lives of LGBT Hispanic older adults by making key recommendations to legislators and health care providers on their behalf.