Clinics in Geriatric Medicine

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) + discrimination is widespread, harming the health of LGBTQ + people and constituting a barrier to care. This contributes to higher rates of poverty among LGBTQ + people, especially among people of color, and lower insurance coverage rates. The Affordable Care Act's expansion of insurance access has reduced uninsurance rates among LGBT people and people living with human immunodeficienc virus (HIV). Systemic improvements in culturally responsive health care have occurred over the past decade, including increased collection and use of sexual orientation and gender identity data to improve quality of care...

The home-based medicine ecosystem is rapidly expanding. With this expansion, it is increasingly important to understand the unique needs of homebound older adults. There is likely significant intersectionality across the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity (LGBTQ+) older adult population and the homebound population. This article begins to outline some strategies and approaches to entering the home of LGBTQ+ older adults in inclusive and trauma-informed ways and encourages home-based care teams, organizations, and health systems to utilize existing resources created by the LGBTQ+ aging community to provide universal skills training for the workforce...

Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for people with serious illnesses and their loved ones. This article introduces considerations including barriers to care, intersectionality, minority stress, microaggressions, and social safety that may impact the experience and openness of people to receive this care. The authors outline tools to address these challenges including trauma-informed care and how to recognize bias and earn trust. The authors conclude by offering a model for incorporating these assessments and tools with sample scripts to provide patient-centered and holistic palliative care...

LGBTQ + older adults have a high likelihood of accessing nursing home care. This is due to several factors: limitations performing activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, restricted support networks, social isolation, delay seeking assistance, limited economic resources, and dementia. Nursing home residents fear going in the closet, which can have adverse health effects. Cultivating an inclusive nursing home culture, including administration, staff, and residents, can help older LGBTQ + adults adjust and thrive in long-term care...

Isolation, financial insecurity, incomplete advance care planning, and lack of safe/affordable/inclusive long-term care are challenges magnified in gender and sexual minorities. LGBTQIA+ older adults are disproportionately more likely to live alone and experience financial poverty and social isolation. LGBTQIA+ adults suffering from cognitive impairment are an especially defenseless population due to their lack of social connection and potential lack of financial resources and advance care planning...

LGBTQIA+ older adults share a unique set of risk factors that impact mental health. This article provides an overview of the minority stress and allostatic load models and how they can lead to worse physical and mental health outcomes. The article also describes unique epidemiologic and psychosocial context for various aspects of mental health among LGBTQIA+ older adults. Within each section are suggestions for health care providers when addressing these mental health issues and caring for LGBTQIA+ older adults in all settings...

As people with HIV live longer, they can experience increased incidence and earlier onset of chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes. Older people are also at substantially increased risk of delayed diagnosis and treatment for HIV. Increasing provider awareness of this is pivotal in ensuring adequate consideration of HIV testing and earlier screening for chronic conditions. In addition, evaluating patients for common geriatric syndromes such as polypharmacy, frailty, falls, and cognitive impairment should be contextualized based on how they present...

Clinicians working with older transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals need to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to provide care that is high quality and culturally appropriate. This includes supporting patients in their exploration of gender and attainment of gender-affirming medical interventions. Clinicians should strive to create environments that are inclusive and safe, and that will facilitate health care access and build constructive provider-patient relationships. Clinicians should be aware of best practices, including that age-appropriate health screenings should be anatomy based, and ensure that TGD older adults on gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) receive ongoing laboratory monitoring and physical assessments, including serum hormone levels and biomarkers...

In the United States, it is estimated that 0.3% of Americans aged 65 and older, or almost 172,000 individuals, identify as transgender. Aging comes with a unique set of challenges and experiences for this population, including health care disparities, mental health concerns, and social isolation. It is crucial for clinicians to use a patient-centered and trauma-informed care approach to address their specific needs and provide evidence-based quality health care, including preventive screenings, mental health support, and advocating for legal protections...

Lesbian and bisexual (LB) women are a growing and understudied population in the United States. LB women have unique histories and health experiences and encounter numerous resource and health care disparities that impact healthy aging. Despite LB population growth, little research has investigated the experiences of LB women separately from the broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity (LGBTQ+) community. The research that does exist largely focuses on the experiences of younger LB women...

Older gay and bisexual men constitute diverse, sizable, and potentially vulnerable populations. They have and continue to face discrimination and stigma in multiple settings, including health care. Older gay and bisexual men report worse health, higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use, and higher HIV rates compared with their heterosexual counterparts. They have unique needs and experiences in multiple realms of health care including mental health, sexual health, and cancer screenings. Geriatric medicine physicians and providers can educate themselves on these unique needs and risks and take steps to provide inclusive, affirming care...

Sexual health is an important but often overlooked health concern of LGBTQ + older adults. Multiple factors influence sexual health including intersecting identities; adverse life events; coping mechanisms; and psychological, social, and physical health domains. Thus, the use of a culturally competent and comprehensive person-centered approach to sexual health is warranted. In this review, we discuss approaches to engaging LGBTQ + older adults to ensure they are able to achieve their sexual health priorities and prevent new human immunodeficiency virus infections...

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer(LGBTQ +) community is a marginalized minority group who continues to face and experience significant discrimination, prejudice, stigma, oppression, and abuse in various societal domains including health care. The older adult LGBTQ + community is an especially vulnerable group as they have unique minority stressors attributed to intersectional identities of age, ableism, ethnicity, and employment, among other factors. It is critical for health care providers to recognize and mitigate disproportionate care by engaging in strategies that promote inclusion and affirmation of their sexual orientation and gender identity...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Pruritus is the most common dermatologic complaint in the geriatric population. Its growing prevalence coincides with the rapid growth of the elderly population (>65 years of age) in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau, 16.9% of the population, or more than 56 million adults 65 years and older, lived in the United States in 2022. Pruritus is a condition that accompanies a diverse array of underlying etiologic factors. The mechanism of normal itch impulse transmission has been recently elucidated...

Venous insufficiency is a common medical condition that affects many individuals, especially those with advanced age. Chronic venous insufficiency can lead to secondary cutaneous changes that most commonly present as stasis dermatitis but can progress to more serious venous ulcers. Although venous ulcers are the most common cause of lower extremity ulcers, the differential diagnosis of leg ulcers is broad. This article will discuss clinical clues to help guide patient workup and will review basic clinical evaluation and management of common leg ulcers...

Bullous diseases are a group of dermatoses primarily characterized by the presence of vesicles (0.1-0.9 cm) or bullae (>1 cm). There are various categories of bullous disease: allergic, autoimmune, infectious, mechanical, and metabolic. These diseases affect individuals in all decades of life, but older adults, age 65 and older, are particularly susceptible to bullous diseases of all etiologies. The incidence of these disorders is expected to increase given the advancing age of the general population. In this comprehensive review, we will outline the common bullous diseases affecting older individuals and provide an approach to evaluation and management...