Are dementia services and support organisations meeting the needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) caregivers of LGBT people living with dementia? A scoping review of the literature
posted on 2022-09-23, 13:25authored byClaudio Di Lorito, Alessandro Bosco, Elizabeth PeelElizabeth Peel, Sharron Hinchliff, Tom Dening, Toni Calasanti, Brian de Vries, Neil Cutler, Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Rowan H. Harwood
Objectives: More than 60% of people with dementia live at home, where assistance is usually provided
by informal caregivers. Research on the experiences of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
(LGBT) caregivers is limited. This scoping review of the literature synthesizes international evidence
on support provision for the population of LGBT caregivers.
Methods: Eight electronic databases and Google Scholar were searched using terms including
‘Dementia’, ‘LGBT’ and ‘Caregiver’ for all types of articles, including empirical studies, grey literature
and sources from charity/third sector/lobbying organisations. Article selection was performed by two
raters. Data were analysed through deductive thematic analysis, and three themes were established
a priori: Distinct experiences of LGBT caregivers; current barriers to support; strategies to overcome
the current challenges.
Results: Twenty articles were included. Distinct experiences of LGBT caregivers included a loss of
LGBT identity, the impact of historical events, families of choice, and disclosing LGBT identities. Current
barriers to support included poor representation of LGBT caregivers in support services, negative
attitudes of staff and reluctance of caregivers to seek support. Strategies to overcome the current
challenges included staff awareness training and kite-marking inclusion.
Conclusion: Limited cultural competency of staff and a subsequent reluctance to seek help have an
impact on use of support services among LGBT caregivers. Implications for practice include the
development of cost-effective, feasible, and acceptable inclusiveness training for services. Implications
for policy include implementation in organisations of top-down agendas supporting staff to
understand sexuality and non-heteronormative relationships in older age.
This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Taylor and Francis under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/