Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging

This edited collection emphasizes the role of social work practice and research related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) aging. It highlights LGBT aging from a gerontological social work perspective by incorporating key values of the profession such as cultural competence, dignity, strengths, and resilience of the population while it offers an important contribution to the body of knowledge to the interdisciplinary field of aging. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Nancy Giunta is a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar, Assistant Professor at the Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, City University of New York, USA. Her research explores collaborative interventions to improve culturally competent services for elders in community settings. Noell L. Rowan is a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar, Associate Professor, and Coordinator of BSW Program at the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA. Her research focuses on LGBT populations and the intersection with aging and mental health and addiction, resiliency and quality of life.

1. Introduction: Building Capacity in Gerontological Social Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults and Their Loved Ones 2. Creating a Vision for the Future: Key Competencies and Strategies for Culturally Competent Practice With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Older Adults in the Health and Human Services 3. Same-Sex Sexual Relationships in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project: Making a Case for Data Collection 4. Hidden or Uninvited? A Content Analysis of Elder LGBT of Color Literature in Gerontology 5. Gender Transitions in Later Life: The Significance of Time in Queer Aging 6. Resilience in Attaining and Sustaining Sobriety Among Older Lesbians With Alcoholism 7. Broadening Definitions of Family for Older Lesbians: Modifying the Lubben Social Network Scale 8. GayBy Boomers' Social Support: Exploring the Connection Between Health and Emotional and Instrumental Support in Older Gay Men 9. Acceptance in the Domestic Environment: The Experience of Senior Housing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Seniors 10. The Highs and Lows of Caregiving for Chronically Ill Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Elders 11. Older Lesbians and Bereavement: Experiencing the Loss of a Partner 12. Developing Understanding of Same-Sex Partner Bereavement for Older Lesbian and Gay People: Implications for Social Work Practice 13. Assessing Capacity for Providing Culturally Competent Services to LGBT Older Adults 14. Working With LGBT Older Adults: An Assessment of Employee Training Practices, Needs, and Preferences of Senior Service Organizations in Minnesota 15. Assessing the Efficacy of LGBT Cultural Competency Training for Aging Services Providers in California's Central Valley 16. "I Want to Know More About Who We Are": New Directions for Research With Older Lesbians 17. Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: Understanding the Pervasive Needs of Older LGBT Adults and the Value of Social Work in Health Care 18. "They Just Don't Have a Clue": Transgender Aging and Implications for Social Work 19. The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging Provides Critical Training to Aging Service Providers 20. Film Review: Transgender Tuesdays: A Clinic in the Tenderloin, by Mark Freeman