ABSTRACT
The majority of accounts to date exploring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) caregiving appear in the HIV/AIDS literature and describe outcomes associated with the LGBT community’s response to the AIDS epidemic (e.g., Fredriksen, 1999; Wight, 2002). However, results from several surveys in larger U.S. cities (i.e., New York, San Francisco, San Jose, California) are emerging that provide data on LGBT caregivers to older adults (Cantor, Brennan, & Shippy, 2004; Hoctel, 2002; Outword Online, 2000; Reiter, 2003). The data suggest that LGBT caregivers provide similar kinds of care as heterosexual caregivers, but that both LGBT caregivers and recipients experience sexual-orientation-based discrimination that is a barrier to service utilization. These barriers are probably even worse in areas without established LGBT communities (Coon & Zeiss, 2003a).
