'Everyday advocates' for inclusive care? Perspectives on enhancing the provision of long-term care services for older lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in Wales

Willis, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9774-0130, Raithby, Michele, Maegusuku-Hewett, Tracey and Miles, Penny 2017. 'Everyday advocates' for inclusive care? Perspectives on enhancing the provision of long-term care services for older lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in Wales. The British Journal of Social Work 47 (2) , 409–426. 10.1093/bjsw/bcv143

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Abstract

This paper centres on a neglected area of social work with older people—the social inclusion of older lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults in long-term care environments. The translation of equality law into the delivery of adult care services is a challenging endeavour for organisations, even more so in the morally contested terrain of sexual well-being. In this paper, we report findings from a mixed-methods study into the provision of long-term care for older adults who identify as LGB. Herein we present findings from a survey of care workers and managers (n = 121) and from focus groups with equality and LGB stakeholder representatives (n = 20) in Wales. Focusing on the current knowledge and understanding of staff, we suggest that affirmative beliefs and practices with sexual minorities are evident amongst care workers and managers; however, the inclusion of LGB residents needs to be advanced systemically at structural, cultural and individual levels of provision. There is a need for enhancing awareness of the legacy of enduring discrimination for older LGB people, for cultural acceptance in care environments of older people's sexual desires and relationships, and for a more explicit implementation of equality legislation. Social workers in adult care can advance this agenda.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0045-3102
Date of Acceptance:	1 December 2015
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2024 15:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/165249

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