"My support groups have saved my life.": facilitators of positive or satisfactory experiences in behavioral healthcare for transgender and gender nonconforming older adults.

OBJECTIVES: Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) older adults experience significant behavioral health and healthcare disparities. Facilitators that contribute to positive behavioral healthcare experiences among this population, however, remain uncertain. In this study, we investigate facilitators contributing to positive or satisfactory behavioral healthcare experiences among a sample of TGNC older adults in the United States (US). METHOD: Between September 2021 and January 2022, the first author conducted 47 semi-structured, individual interviews with TGNC adults aged 65 years or over in the US. Using an inductive grounded theory approach, we examined respondents' positive or satisfactory experiences with accessing and utilizing behavioral health services, support, and resources. Analyses were conducted using NVivo (Release 1.6) software. RESULTS: Findings underscore the importance of addressing the specific or unique needs of TGNC older patients to promote positive or satisfactory experiences in behavioral healthcare. Three themes emerged: (1) engaging with behavioral healthcare practitioners who offer compassionate, patient-centered care; (2) accessing and utilizing culturally tailored peer-support groups; and (3) receiving equitable access to gender-affirming care and social services. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight opportunities for expanding and incorporating these identified facilitators into behavioral healthcare research and practice, especially when promoting gender affirmation in care for TGNC older patients.

Barriers to quality healthcare among transgender and gender nonconforming adults.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the barriers transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults face when accessing or receiving healthcare in the United States. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: Primary data were collected between September 2022 and March 2023 from a purposive sample of TGNC adults (N = 116 participants) using an online survey with a series of open-ended and closed-ended questions. STUDY DESIGN: Thematic analysis was employed to extract and analyze participants' responses to an open-ended question about challenges they experienced when accessing or receiving healthcare. Two members of the research team conducted qualitative data analyses using Dedoose. The quality of each analysis was subsequently reviewed by a third research team member. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Data were collected from responses to one open-ended question that asked about participants' healthcare barriers as a TGNC individual. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Five main themes surrounding healthcare barriers emerged from the content analysis: (1) acceptability, (2) accommodation, (3) affordability, (4) availability, and (5) accessibility. First, participants who noted acceptability issues reported explicit discriminatory treatment from providers, providers not using their chosen names and pronouns (e.g., misgendering), and provider refusal to provide gender-affirming care. Second, participants who experienced accommodation challenges identified provider medical training gaps on TGNC patient needs and administrative barriers to care. Third, participants explained affordability issues due to a lack of adequate health insurance coverage. Fourth, participants described availability challenges with accessing hormone therapy prescriptions. Finally, participants noted accessibility issues with obtaining TGNC-specific care at LGBTQ+-affirming clinics. CONCLUSIONS: There is a growing interest in the needs of TGNC adults within healthcare settings. This requires that health policies are enacted to ensure that TGNC adults have access to healthcare that is accommodating and accepting/affirming. Study findings may provide insight into the potential impact of current legislation on transgender access and availability.

"We grow older. We also have lots of sex. I just want a doctor who will at least ask about it.": Transgender, non-binary, and intersex older adults in sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Transgender, non-binary, and intersex (TNBI) older adults experience significant disparities in sexual and reproductive healthcare. Utilizing data from 50 semi-structured individual interviews with TNBI older Americans, we examine how TNBI older adults experience and mitigate inequity in sexual and reproductive healthcare. We explore elders' negotiation of inequity through what we term resourcefulness strategies - tactical processes involving marginalized communities obtaining and utilizing resources to minimize inequalities within and beyond healthcare settings. Resourcefulness strategies differ from resiliency insofar as they directly acknowledge the need for social privilege, capital, and resources - on a community level - to overcome difficult situations (e.g., inequalities in healthcare), rather than drawing upon individual coping strategies alone. Our analysis reveals medical providers' lack of cultural competency with TNBI communities and older adults as primary drivers of TNBI older adults' experiences of inequity within sexual/reproductive healthcare settings. Consequently, TNBI older adults aimed to minimize inequity in sexual/reproductive healthcare through particular resourcefulness strategies. Specifically, we found a bifurcation in respondents' strategies, wherein trans men engaged in health service avoidance while trans women and non-binary respondents engaged in health service self-advocacy. These strategies required respondents to assume primary responsibility for transforming (or avoiding) sexual/reproductive health services that were perceived as lacking or actively harmful. We argue that such approaches are neither effective nor structurally-sustainable for attaining older-age and TNBI-affirming, inclusive, and culturally-competent healthcare for TNBI older patients.

Health Disparities Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Older Adults: A Structural Competency Approach.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) older adults experience significant health disparities. Examining these disparities has become an international research priority, but gaps remain. In this review article, we summarize major contributions of and ongoing gaps in health disparities research among LGBTQ+ older adults, while focusing on four major content areas: (a) social determinants of health disparities, (b) mental, cognitive, and physical health disparities, (c) reproductive and sexual health disparities, and (d) seeking LGBTQ+-affirming and age-friendly care. Using a structural competency approach, we develop a four-part agenda for this research area that enhances our understanding of how macro-level systems, institutions, and structures drive health disparities among aging LGBTQ+ communities. We also outline future research on structural competency in LGBTQ+ older adult health, while providing recommendations for researchers and clinicians. These recommendations illuminate potential best practices for bettering the health and quality of life of LGBTQ+ older populations.

SATISFICING DEATH: Ageing and end-of-life preparation among transgender older Americans.

A good death-a normative ideology of living and dying well that may allow an individual to gain awareness, acceptance, and preparation for death-has captured the attention of researchers, clinicians, and policymakers in recent years. Prior sociological research has uncovered nuanced perspectives of a good death, yet there has been minimal exploration into how marginalised communities reconstruct their own ideals of a good death in response to structural and institutional inequities. Utilising data from 47 in-depth interviews, I examine how transgender older adults perceive and plan for ageing and end-of-life experiences through advance care planning. My analysis reveals transgender older adults' reevaluated notions of a normatively desirable good death for themselves due to existing inequities. Consequently, they actively reconstruct a personalised ideology of death that is adequate enough to meet their end-of-life needs. I further offer the conceptualisation of SATISFICING DEATH, as a process of individuals from marginalised communities reevaluating and reconstructing their own ideologies of a good death that is adequate enough while using resourceful strategies to improve existing social conditions for themselves. These findings highlight the critical need to provide affirming end-of-life care, support, and resources to transgender communities.

African American Alzheimer's Caregiver Training and Support Project 2 (ACTS2) pilot study: Outcomes analysis.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to conduct an initial evaluation of the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the African American Alzheimer's Caregiver Training and Support Project 2 (ACTS2). Quantitative objectives focused on assessing changes in caregiver depression and health status, as well as the severity of caregiving and self-care problems from pre- to postintervention. Secondary quantitative analyses examined posttreatment changes in social support and caregiver burden. Qualitative objectives included examining caregivers' perceptions of the effectiveness of in-session training activities, quality of relationships among group participants and their facilitator, and appraisals of spiritual elements of the program. RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN: Nine African American family caregivers of older adults with dementia completed the ACTS2 lay pastoral care facilitator-led, telephone cognitive-behavioral intervention. The 12-week training program included seven skills-building groups and five individual problem-solving sessions. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found on the majority of dependent measures, including caregiver depression, health status, problem severity, and social support. Qualitative analysis highlighted the value caregivers placed on relationships with coparticipants and group facilitators, the role of spirituality in the program, and the importance of goal setting for improving caregiver distress and self-care. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Convergence was found between quantitative and qualitative findings, particularly improvements in caregiver distress, health status, and social support. Overall, the findings of the pilot study were promising. Replication using a randomized controlled design with a larger sample size is needed to test the reliability of the findings. The benefits of tailoring intervention to caregivers' sociocultural preferences and spiritual values are also addressed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Liminal Lives in Uncertain Times: Health Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Transgender and Non-Binary Older Adults.

Older adulthood is a crucial time in the health management journeys of transgender and non-binary (TNB) people. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted TNB older patients (65 years and over) offers critical guidance for successful health services reform and continued delivery systems change. Using qualitative data from 47 semi-structured individual interviews, I investigate how TNB older Americans-as a medically and socially vulnerable population in the United States-manage their health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated a need for enhancing health services and resources for TNB older adults while creating a culture of age-friendly and gender-affirming healthcare. Four primary themes emerged: (1) exacerbated mental health challenges, (2) disrupted social relationships and support, (3) adopting cost-effective health management strategies, and (4) incorporating family care partners in health management. Such themes were shaped by respondents' privileged and marginalized social locations, such as access to financial security, social support, and adequate medical care. Although these research findings should not be generalized to the TNB older adult population, they suggest that broader patterns of inequity affect how TNB older Americans manage their health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Evaluation of Dementia Dialogues®: A Program for Informal and Formal Caregivers in North and South Carolina.

In 2019, the University of South Carolina's Office for the Study of Aging (OSA) remodeled the curriculum for the nationally registered Dementia Dialogues® program that delivers high-quality education to formal and informal caregivers of persons who exhibit signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). This study evaluated new knowledge acquired and program satisfaction by North and South Carolina program participants (N = 235) after completing updated modules. Pre/post module survey data were analyzed using means and percentiles, McNemar's test, and paired t tests. Results demonstrated significant positive increases in caregiver knowledge attainment, with differences in overall knowledge change in specific modules among caregivers and noncaregivers (p < .0001-<.05). Dementia Dialogues® may serve as a useful tool in providing important information that increases caregiver knowledge of persons living with ADRD. Further research is recommended to examine how knowledge improvement translates into caregiving practices.

New horizons in trans and non-binary health care: Bridging identity affirmation with chronicity management in sexual and reproductive services.

BACKGROUND: Transgender and non-binary people experience erasure, stigma, and discrimination in sexual and reproductive health care. Previous research shows worse sexual and reproductive health outcomes and higher rates of chronicity for trans and non-binary populations as compared to cisgender populations. Historically such outcomes have been framed as separate issues. AIMS: To describe methodological approaches for exploring gaps in the sexual and reproductive health care of transgender and non-binary people, and explore intersections between chronic disease management and gender-affirming care. METHODS: We critically reviewed methods for studying sexual and reproductive care and chronic condition management among trans and non-binary populations. We focus on two themes: unmet needs and response strategies. RESULTS: We summarize findings and opportunities in existing research about service needs in trans and non-binary care. Key barriers to effective sexual and reproductive care for trans and non-binary people include persistent medical myths about trans people and bodies, siloization of different domains of health and associated services, lack of research on how chronic disease treatments interact with transition related care, and lack of active communication between providers and patients about individual care needs and goals. DISCUSSION: We recommend methodologically diverse research with trans and non-binary populations capturing: (1) erasure, stigma, and discrimination in sexual and reproductive health care settings; (2) individual, interpersonal, and structural factors catalyzing chronicity; and (3) the impact of sexual and reproductive health disparities on chronic disease outcomes.

Experiences with Achieving Pregnancy and Giving Birth Among Transgender Men: A Narrative Literature Review.

Despite the burgeoning scholarship on transgender health and health care, the literature on transgender reproduction and reproductive medicine remains limited. In this narrative literature review, we examine recently published studies focused on the pregnancy and birth experiences of transgender men to provide an overview of the literature's major contributions and illuminate the gaps that exist within this research. Our review reveals that transgender men face substantial obstacles to achieving pregnancy and significant challenges during pregnancy and birth, which are informed by institutionalized cisnormativity embedded within medical norms and practices. This article demonstrates the importance of better understanding transgender men's reproductive health care needs in order to improve the quality of pregnancy-related health care delivery to this population. Our findings also provide insight for researchers, health care providers, and educators seeking to create and enhance gender-affirming medical education and training.

Social Connectedness Factors that Facilitate Use of Healthcare Services: Comparison of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming and Cisgender Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To compare social connectedness factors that facilitate use of primary, dental, and mental healthcare services among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) and cisgender adolescents. METHODS: Data from the cross-sectional 2016 Minnesota Student Survey were used to examine protective social connectedness factors associated with use of different healthcare services among matched samples of 1916 TGNC and 1916 cisgender youth. Stratified, logistic regression analyses were used to examine background characteristics and social connectedness factors (parent connectedness, connections to other nonparental adults, teacher-student relationships, and friend connections) associated with use of each healthcare service within the last year. RESULTS: For TGNC youth, but not for cisgender youth, higher levels of parent connectedness were associated with receipt of primary (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.40-3.66) and dental (OR, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.78-5.08) care services, and lower levels of connectedness to nonparental adults was associated with receipt of mental healthcare (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33-0.93). Among cisgender youth, no protective factors were significantly associated with receipt of primary care services, higher levels of friend connections were associated with receipt of dental services (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.10-3.09), and lower levels of parent connectedness were associated with receipt of mental healthcare (OR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.10-0.40). CONCLUSIONS: To promote the health of TGNC youth, clinicians should understand the distinct factors associated with obtaining healthcare among this population such as the need for tailored efforts focused on strengthening connectedness between TGNC youth and their parents to facilitate receipt of needed care.