Providing home hospice care for LGBTQ+ patients and caregivers: Perceptions and opinions of hospice interdisciplinary care team providers.

Hospice patients and caregivers who are members of sexual and gender minority groups (i.e., LGBTQ+) have reported experiencing unmet needs at end of life (EOL). Negative experiences often stem from challenging interactions with healthcare providers due to ineffective or poor communication and providers' heteronormative assumptions and biases. Few studies, however, examine hospice care team (HCT) providers' knowledge, experience, and opinions related to EOL care for LGBTQ+ patients and caregivers despite this being identified as a gap in competency and education. We sought to examine HCT providers' perceptions regarding (1) awareness of LGBTQ+ patients and caregivers; (2) knowledge of specific or unique needs; and (3) opinions on best care and communication practices. Six focus groups conducted with HCT providers ( Participants were mostly white and non-Hispanic ( Many HCT members were unaware of specific issues impacting the EOL experiences of LGBTQ+ patients and caregivers, or how these experiences may inform important care and communication needs at EOL.