Providing inclusive, person‐centred care for LGBT+ older adults: A discussion on health and social care design and delivery

AIM: To examine how health system design and delivery can fail to support the needs of LGBT+ older adults. BACKGROUND: LGBT+ older adults face barriers in access to care, impacting their ability to receive person‐centred care in old age, which is central to the prevention and management of frailty, disability and disease. EVALUATION: Using a conceptual framework of access to care, this commentary illustrates issues LGBT+ older adults may face in accessing health and social care services in Ireland, and provides examples of how access may be improved from the published international literature. KEY ISSUE(S): Health policies, service design and delivery all impact on the ability of the health system to meet the needs of LGBT+ older adults across all levels and types of care. CONCLUSION: Heteronormativity and discrimination must be addressed across the whole health system to achieve the health policy goal of supporting all older adults to enjoy health and well‐being. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: We suggest nursing professionals use a systems perspective to address the multilevel issues relating to care for LGBT+ older adults. Researchers in gerontological nursing should include the experiences and outcomes of service utilization for LGBT+ older adults in their research agenda.