For many LGBTI older people, approaching the end of life brings unique needs and concerns. Feeling respected, affirmed, and safe in their identity is essential to dignity and comfort during palliative care. Yet these experiences are often overlooked in mainstream aged care settings.
The Silver Rainbow program works to ensure that palliative care services are inclusive and responsive to the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.
The following resources have been developed to guide aged care workers and organisations in providing culturally safe, compassionate, and affirming palliative care for LGBTI older people and their families.
Factsheet: LGBTI Older People and Palliative Care
This factsheet is designed for aged care workers providing palliative or end-of-life care to LGBTI people. It discusses the importance of inclusive, compassionate practice that honours identity, relationships and choices at the end of life, and offers strategies to ensure dignity and respect.
LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning
This FREE eLearning aims to increase healthcare providers’ confidence in providing LGBTIQ+ inclusive palliative care including:
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) communities and their specific healthcare needs
- End-of-life concerns and barriers to palliative care for LGBTIQ+ people
- How to have inclusive end-of-life conversations
- Strategies to support loved ones
- How to create welcoming and inclusive environments
The eLearning topics are explored across four 1-hour modules:
Module 1: Introduction to LGBTIQ+ communities
Module 2: Barriers to providing and receiving palliative care
Module 3: Enablers for LGBTIQ+ people in palliative care
Module 4: Having end-of-life planning conversations
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care includes treatment care and support which aims to increase a person’s quality of life and comfort as they experience life-limiting or advanced disease. This involves attention to the physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of a person’s wellbeing.
LGBTIQ+ people and Palliative Care
All LGBTIQ+ people should feel confident that they can access inclusive palliative care that is safe and respectful. The current research indicates that there are many barriers that prevent this and LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is calling on the palliative care workforce to ‘Be part of the solution'.
‘Be part of the solution’ animations
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia asked three LGBTIQ+ workers about the importance of inclusive palliative care including a GP, palliative care nurse and funeral celebrant. Watch the animations below to hear what they have to say about the barriers and enablers to LGBTIQ+ inclusive palliative care, and the importance of inclusive end-of-life care.
Barriers LGBTIQ+ people face in accessing palliative care
Enablers to providing palliative care to LGBTIQ+ people
Importance of LGBTIQ+ inclusive palliative care
Scoping Review
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia has reviewed the literature on palliative and end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ communities from 2016-2020. This scoping review highlights the barriers faced by LGBTIQ+ people, the facilitating factors that aim to address these barriers, and a focus on what to include in future education and training. The review also highlights areas that require more research and exploration.
LGBTIQ+ People still can’t rely on inclusive palliative care services
Despite the many gains that have been made towards LGBTIQ+ equality, health care services are still not always safe spaces for people from LGBTIQ+ communities.
For many LGBTIQ people, engaging with health practitioners can mean being at the receiving end of assumptions, judgements, and discrimination.