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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Todd Kluss |
New Report Highlights LGBT Older Adults’ Needs, Identifies Policy Opportunities
The National Academy on an Aging Society and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) today released the first-ever issue of the acclaimed Public Policy & Aging Report (PPAR) on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) aging, highlighting gaps in policy and research on LGBT older adults, and current and future solutions to address the needs of LGBT elders.
“Given the voluminous gerontological literature that has built up over the past half-century, it is hard to imagine that any set of aging populations has been largely ignored or under-investigated. Yet, LGBT older adults have remained nearly invisible to the community of advocates, researchers, practitioners, administrators, and politicians who associate themselves with the modern aging enterprise,” said PPAR Editor Robert Hudson, PhD, chair of the Department of Social Policy at the Boston University School of Social Work. “This issue of Public Policy & Aging Report takes a step toward filling that void.”
LGBT older adults make up a significant share of America’s 65+ population, and their numbers are expected to double in size over the next several decades, reaching more than 3 million by 2030. An increase in numbers signals a growing need to ensure that the policies designed to protect our nation’s elders take into account the needs of LGBT older adults.
“Despite recent policy advances, LGBT older adults still face significant barriers to successful aging, such as poor health outcomes, a lack of economic security, social isolation, and unequal treatment under the law and in programs aimed at aging populations,” said Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE. “SAGE is pleased to partner with the National Academy on an Aging Society on this issue of Public Policy & Aging Report to bring LGBT elders’ concerns into the spotlight to transform discussions on aging nationwide.”
PPAR, distributed to thousands of thought leaders in the aging field, explores policy issues generated by the aging of American society. Each thematic issue is designed to stimulate debate, highlight emerging concerns and propose alternative policy solutions.
The current issue, cosponsored by SAGE, explores several topics related to LGBT aging, including the absence of research and public policies devoted to LGBT populations; the failure of existing broad-based aging policies to incorporate LGBT needs and interests; the need for cultural competency training among services personnel; coalition work between organizations working with LGBT older adults and elders of color to advance common policy goals; and the profound implications of a demographic estimate showing that one in two Americans living with HIV will be 50 and older by 2015. The issue also gives an overview of the current state of LGBT aging policy and advocacy, and highlights important new research from a landmark nationwide study of LGBT older adults and their health.
This issue’s authors include several leaders in the LGBT and aging fields, including Michael Adams, SAGE; Kellan Baker and Jeff Krehely, Center for American Progress; Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, New York City Department for the Aging; Brian de Vries, San Francisco State University; Robert Espinoza, SAGE; Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, PhD, University of Washington; Hilary Meyer, National Resource Center on LGBT Aging; Nathan Schaefer, Gay Men’s Health Crisis; Daniel Tietz, AIDS Community Research Initiative of America; Catherine Thurston, SAGE; and Harper Jean Tobin, National Center for Transgender Equality.
Read the issue online at sageusa.org. Print copies of the current issue of PPAR, published by the National Academy on an Aging Society, are available for purchase at agingsociety.org.
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The National Academy on an Aging Society is the policy institute of The Gerontological Society of America, the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,400+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public.
Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults. SAGE has pioneered programs and services for the aging LGBT community, provided technical assistance and training to expand opportunities for LGBT older people across the country, and provided a national voice on LGBT aging issues. In 2005, SAGE became the first official LGBT delegate at the White House Conference on Aging. In 2010, SAGE was awarded a three-year $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration on Aging to seed the creation of the nation's only National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. Learn more at sageusa.org and lgbtagingcenter.org.
Click here for a printable PDF version of this press release.
Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition
Presented to C. Joanne Grabinski, PhD, Eastern Michigan University, and Mary Alice Wolf, PhD, Saint Joseph University.
This award honors colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired. Recipients are individuals who have been actively involved in AGHE through service on committees, as elected officers, and/or have provided leadership in one of AGHE’s grant-funded projects.
Administrative Leadership Award
Presented to Tammy M. Bray, PhD, Oregon State University
This award honors administrators on AGHE member campuses who have made exceptional efforts in support of gerontology or geriatrics education.
David A. Peterson Gerontology & Geriatrics Education Best Paper of the Volume Award
Presented to Nina M. Silverstein, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston; Elizabeth Johns, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston; and Judith A. Griffin, MA, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the article “Students Explore Livable Communities.” Honorable mention is given to Emily J. Robbins, MS, Miami University; Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD, Miami University; and Cary S. Kart, PhD, Miami University, for the article “Promoting Active Engagement in Health Research: Lessons Learned from an Undergraduate Gerontology Capstone Course.”
The purpose of this award is to recognize excellence in scholarship in academic gerontology in AGHE’s official journal, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.
Graduate Student Paper Award
Presented to Deborah Gray, MBA, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the paper “Weight and Wealth: The Relationship between Obesity and Net Worth for Pre-Retirement Age Men and Women.”
This award acknowledges excellence in scholarly work conducted by an AGHE Annual Meeting student attendee.
Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging
Presented to Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morinn-Nelson for “Niwechihaw/I help” in the primary reader (pre-K to 2nd grade) category, and Ann Grifalconi and Jerry Pickney for “Ain’t Nobody A Stranger to Me” in the elementary reader (3rd to 5th grade) category.
This award recognizes portrayals of meaningful aging in children’s literature.