Transgender Older Adults Featured in First-Ever LGBT Aging Publication

In a groundbreaking LGBT-themed issue of Public Policy & Aging Report, a publication of the National Academy on an Aging Society, NCTE Policy Counsel Harper Jean Tobin outlines the policy agenda of transgender older adults. From accessing healthcare to the mistreatment of transgender older adults in long-term care facilities, Tobin reviews the issues that diminish the quality of life for a growing segment of the transgender community. The introduction of Tobin's entry called, "Improving the Lives of Transgender Older Adults," reads:

[L]ittle is known about the growing population of older transgender people and their needs (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Some older transgender women and men transitioned from one gender to another at a time when trans people were invisible, legal rights were nonexistent, and doctors recommended starting a new life and avoiding other trans people. Others come out and transition later in life, and may face the loss of existing sources of social and financial support. Trans people are commonly challenged and mistreated in all kinds of settings over what name they go by, how they dress, which restroom they use, and whether their ID matches their gender identity.

Tobin's research is part of NCTE's expanding federal aging agenda, which includes advocating for full Medicare coverage of transition related care, collaborating with SAGE on a Transgender Aging Advocacy Initiative, and working to improve cultural competency in aging services and long-term care through the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Read the press release from SAGE esta página.