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 LGBT  Update   
 May 2012
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Next Social May 6

 

LGBT adults 50 and over are invited to a monthly social sponsored by WLEN. It will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Peppercorns restaurant, 455 Park Avenue, Worcester MA 01610. We usually adjourn about 8:00 or 8:15. Come and meet new friends, have a good time, and still get home at a decent hour. Everyone pays for their own drinks and meals. For menu information or directions go to http://www.epeppercorns.com/ or call (508) 752-7711.

          

 

Aging and Health

There has been very little health research done that can identify trends in the aging LGBT population. The reasons aren't too hard to understand. Until recently, no one asked us if we were gay, and most of us were hesitant, if not afraid, to disclose the fact. That's changing as government agencies on the state and federal levels want to determine disparities in health care and outcomes for underserved communities like ours. Dr. Judith Bradford of the Fenway Institute, a pioneer in GLBT demographic research, gave the keynote address at the March 16 conference, LGBT Elders in a Changing World, held at Salem State University. She talked about the long, hard road she and others took advocating for research about lesbians, gay men, and bisexual and transgender people.

 

Finally a snapshot of the health and welfare of older gay adults is emerging. The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging has published a valuable new resource called, 'The Aging and Health Report: Disparities and Resilience among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults.' It takes 88 pages as a .pdf file but even the executive summary is loaded with facts about us.

 

Here is a sample found on page 2:

 

LGBT Older Adult Participants: Aging and Health Findings

  • Nearly one-half have a disability and nearly one-third report depression.
  • Most LGBT older adults (91%) engage in wellness activities.
  • Almost two-thirds have been victimized three or more times.
  • Thirteen percent have been denied healthcare or received inferior care.
  • More than 20% do not disclose their sexual or gender identity to their physician.
  • About one-third do not have a will or durable power of attorney for healthcare.
  • Most needed services: senior housing, transportation, legal services, social events.

 

You can read the full report at: http://tinyurl.com/cahgzkt.  

Successful Aging

Several authors have suggested simple strategies for successful aging. The model(s), with modifications and reservations, can be beneficial for LGBT older adults too.

 

John W. Rowe and Robert L. Kahn, in their 1998 book Successful Aging[i], posited three strategies for aging successfully: engage in an active lifestyle, minimize the risk factors for disease and disability associated with aging, and maximize physical and mental activities. In 2002, Martha R. Crowther writing with four others in The Gerontologist[ii], added a fourth: positive spirituality.

 

In many ways, the advice seems like a no-brainer. It is also deceptively simple. Who wouldn't want to avoid illness and disability connected with aging? The means to arriving at that goal can be difficult; another case of 'easier said than done'. The same old advice pertains: Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, avoid risky behavior. Examples of these strategies include: Eat more fish, vegetables and whole grains and less meat; quit smoking; wear a seat belt; don't engage in unprotected sex; get out of your easy chair and start walking. Who wouldn't want to maintain an active lifestyle? But what do you do when the aches and pains of aging get in the way? What if the side effects, such as shortness of breath, of your life-prolonging medication hold you back? Adapt. For instance, walking slowly 10 minutes a day is far better than not moving at all.

 

rainbowHere's where positive spirituality comes in. Positive spirituality is not religion, per se, although it can include it. Many LGBT people have been hurt by organized religion. Spirituality, however, is personal and individualistic. "Positive spirituality involves a developing and internalized personal relation with the sacred or transcendent ... and promotes the wellness and welfare of self and others," according to Crowther[iii]. Positive spirituality directs the practitioner both in and out. It encourages personal growth (internal) while helping others (external).

 

Taken all together, changes suggested by the successful aging model may seem impossible. Taken one at a time, they are much more doable. The first step may be the hardest; each subsequent step can bring incremental improvement.



[i] New York: Pantheon/Random House

[ii] Vol. 42, No. 5, 613-620

[iii] Ibid 614

 

 

 

Elder Services and its programs are funded in whole or in part by contracts with or grants from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs. It also receives Federal financial support under the Older Americans Act provided by the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging. Funders also include United Way of Central Massachusetts, City of Worcester's Department of Health & Human Services, Elder Affairs Commission Division, local Councils on Aging, participant donations, grants and individual support.

 
Kathy McGrath
Elder Services of Worcester
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