A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research Literature and a Thematic Synthesis of Older LGBTQ People’s Experiences of Quality of Life, Minority Joy, Resilience, Minority Stress, Discrimination, and Stigmatization in Japan and Sweden Show others and affiliations
2023 (English) In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 20, no 13, article id 6281Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Abstract [en]
There is a lack of research on older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) adults. This systematic review aimed to synthesize Japanese and Swedish qualitative research on LGBTQ adults aged 60 years or older following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Japanese and Swedish articles, published in English, were searched across ASSIA, CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Sociological Abstracts databases. Additional searches were conducted to include studies in Japanese or Swedish. There were no papers from Japan, whereas five from Sweden were reviewed. One article was excluded due to the wrong phenomenon. Four articles were included, involving 48 participants aged 60–94 years. We summarized the findings using a deductive thematic synthesis. Two major themes emerged: (a) quality of life, minority joy, and resilience (positive aspects), and (b) discrimination, stigmatization, and minority stress (negative aspects). The participants wished to be acknowledged for their own assets and unique life histories, and to be treated as everyone else. They emphasized the importance of knowledge of LGBTQ issues among nursing staff, so that older LGBTQ people are treated in a competent and affirmative way. The study revealed several important topics for understanding older LGBTQ adults’ life circumstances and the severe lack of qualitative studies in Japan and Sweden.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages MDPI, 2023. Vol. 20, no 13, article id 6281
Keywords [en]
aging, aged, sexual and gender minorities, quality of life, stereotyping, social discrimination
National Category
Psychology
Research subject Social Sciences, Psychology
Identifiers URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-123399 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20136281 Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85164845924 OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-123399 DiVA, id: diva2:1784904
2023-07-312023-07-312025-02-03 Bibliographically approved