TY - JOUR T1 - Anticipated Need for Future Nursing Home Placement by Sexual Orientation: Early Findings from the Health and Retirement Study JF - Sexuality Research and Social Policy Y1 - 2022 A1 - Singleton, Mekiayla A1 - Zachary Gassoumis A1 - Enguidanos, Susan KW - Health Disparities KW - Long-term Care KW - nursing home KW - sexual minorities AB - Background With a growing population of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults, it is critical to better understand the future long-term care needs of this population. This study compares anticipated need for future nursing home placement, as well as health characteristics of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual adults. Methods Using data from the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted to examine anticipated nursing home placement and health characteristics of LGB (n = 137) and heterosexual (n = 3469) adults. Results There was a marginally significant difference in anticipated need for nursing home placement. LGB (34%, SD = 29.2) adults reported a higher percent chance of ever having to move to a nursing home compared to heterosexual adults (27%, SD = 27.3; p = 0.055). LGB respondents were less likely to have a living child/children (37% vs 82%, p < .001), but no other demographic differences were found between the samples. Conclusion/Policy Implication Findings from this early research add to the literature on the future care needs of older sexual minorities. Given the differing family structures of LGB adults and other factors, long-term care facilities must ensure their workforce is prepared to support a growing, diverse older adult population. VL - 19 SN - 1553-6610 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Functional Limitations and Access to Long-Term Services and Supports Among Sexual Minority Older Adults. JF - Journal of Applied Gerontology Y1 - 2022 A1 - Travers, Jasmine L A1 - Shippee, Tetyana P A1 - Flatt, Jason D A1 - Caceres, Billy A KW - Functional limitations KW - long-term support KW - sexual identity KW - sexual minorities AB -

Little is known about sexual minority (SM) older adults' activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) limitations and their subsequent access to long-term services and supports (LTSS). We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study limited to individuals ≥50 years old. Bivariate analyses were performed to examine 1) sexual identity differences in the prevalence of ADL/IADL limitations and 2) associations of sexual identity with having ADL/IADL limitations and having access to help with ADL/IADL limitations. Our sample consisted of 3833 older adults, 6% ( = 213) were SM. Compared to heterosexual participants, bisexual older adults had greater reports of ADL/IADL limitations (20.9% vs. 35.9%, = 0.013). Among those who reported having ADL/IADL limitations ( = 803), there were no sexual identity differences in accessing help for ADL/IADL limitations ( = .901). Our findings contribute to the limited research on LTSS access among SM older adults.

VL - 41 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Same-Sex Couples and Cognitive Impairment: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study. JF - The Journals of Gerontology: Series B Y1 - 2021 A1 - Hui Liu A1 - Hsieh, Ning A1 - Zhang, Zhenmei A1 - Zhang, Yan A1 - Kenneth M. Langa KW - cognitive impairment KW - gender KW - Marital Status KW - same-sex couples KW - sexual minorities AB -

OBJECTIVES: We provide the first nationally representative population-based study of cognitive disparities among same-sex and different-sex couples in the United States.

METHOD: We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2016). The sample included 23,669 respondents (196 same-sex partners and 23,473 different-sex partners) aged 50 and older who contributed to 85,117 person-period records (496 from same-sex partners and 84,621 from different-sex partners). Cognitive impairment was assessed using the modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Mixed-effects discrete-time hazard regression models were estimated to predict the odds of cognitive impairment.

RESULTS: The estimated odds of cognitive impairment were 78% (p < .01) higher for same-sex partners than for different-sex partners. This disparity was mainly explained by differences in marital status and, to a much lesser extent, by differences in physical and mental health. Specifically, a significantly higher proportion of same-sex partners than different-sex partners were cohabiting rather than legally married (72.98% vs. 5.42% in the study sample), and cohabitors had a significantly higher risk of cognitive impairment than their married counterparts (OR = 1.53, p < .001).

DISCUSSION: The findings indicate that designing and implementing public policies and programs that work to eliminate societal homophobia, especially among older adults, is a critical step in reducing the elevated risk of cognitive impairment among older same-sex couples.

VL - 76 IS - 7 ER -