Abstract
Objective: Little is known about sexual minority (SM) older adults’ activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) limitations and their subsequent access to long-term services and supports (LTSS). Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study limited to individuals ≥50 years old. Bivariate analyses were performed to examine 1) sexual identity differences in the prevalence of ADL/IADL limitations and 2) associations of sexual identity with having ADL/IADL limitations and having access to help with ADL/IADL limitations. Results: Our sample consisted of 3833 older adults, 6% (n = 213) were SM. Compared to heterosexual participants, bisexual older adults had greater reports of ADL/IADL limitations (20.9% vs. 35.9%, p = 0.013). Among those who reported having ADL/IADL limitations (n = 803), there were no sexual identity differences in accessing help for ADL/IADL limitations (p =.901). Discussion: Our findings contribute to the limited research on LTSS access among SM older adults.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2056-2062 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Gerontology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a Harold Amos career development award funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [RWJF; 77872 to J.L.T]. J.L.T is additionally supported by an award from the National Institute on Aging [K76 AG074922-01 to J.L.T]. B.C. is funded by an award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [K01HL146965 to B.C.]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation or the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, the funders had no role in the design and conduct of this study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.