Health, well-being, and social support in older Australian lesbian and gay care-givers.
LGBTI
care-giving
discrimination
mental health
older people
well-being
Journal
Health & social care in the community
ISSN: 1365-2524
Titre abrégé: Health Soc Care Community
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9306359
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
01 2020
01 2020
Historique:
received:
08
04
2019
revised:
10
07
2019
accepted:
16
08
2019
pubmed:
14
9
2019
medline:
15
12
2020
entrez:
14
9
2019
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Informal care-givers play an important role in society, and many of the people who provide this care are lesbian women and gay men. Being a care-giver is known to be associated with poorer health and well-being, and lesbian and gay care-givers report experiences of stigma and discrimination in the care-giving context. This study involved a survey of 230 lesbian women and 503 gay men aged 60 years and over living in Australia, of which 218 were care-givers. We compared care-givers to non-caregivers on a range of health and well-being measures, including psychological distress, positive mental health, physical health and social support. While we found no significant differences between these two groups, we further compared care-givers who were caring for an LGBTI person to those who were caring for a non-LGBTI person. Among the lesbian women, care-givers of an LGBTI person reported feeling less supported in their carer role and reported lower levels of social support more generally. They were also lower on positive mental health and physical health indicators. Among the gay men, care-givers of an LGBTI person also reported feeling less supported in their carer role, but there were no differences in reported levels of social support more generally or health and well-being compared to those caring for a non-LGBTI person. Overall, results from this study suggest that older lesbian and gay care-givers may be facing some challenges related to their well-being and feeling supported, especially if they are caring for another LGBTI person.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
204-215Informations de copyright
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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