IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jocnur/v22y2013i23-24p3388-3395.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions of ageing as an older gay man: a qualitative study

Author

Listed:
  • Bernie Kushner
  • Stephen Neville
  • Jeffery Adams

Abstract

Aims and objectives To explore the ageing experiences of gay men in New Zealand over the age of 65 years. Background An increased acceptance by many people in Western societies towards men who are same‐sex attracted is likely to result in a corresponding increase in the number of visible older gay men being the recipients of nursing care. Previous research has shown that nursing has some way to go towards providing a service that is culturally safe and appropriate. Design A critical gerontological approach was employed to explore the ageing experiences of gay men in New Zealand over the age of 65 years. This methodology ensured the voices of older gay men were foregrounded in the research. Methods Semi‐structured digitally recorded individual interviews with 12 gay men aged between 65–81 years who lived in the community were undertaken. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify the repeated patterns across the men's talk. Results Three main themes relating to the ageing experiences of these men were identified: ‘homophobia’, ‘being with someone’ and ‘future care’. Conclusions Resilience was a significant factor in how well older gay men aged even in an environment where homophobia and heterosexism were common. Having a strong social support network was an important factor that contributed to supporting the ageing process. These gay men were wary about having to go into residential care, preferring to age in their own homes. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses and other healthcare professionals need to ensure healthcare services meet the needs of older gay men. Any interaction with older gay men should occur in a way that is open and respectful. The usage of best practice guidelines will assist organisations to deliver culturally safe and appropriate care to this group.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernie Kushner & Stephen Neville & Jeffery Adams, 2013. "Perceptions of ageing as an older gay man: a qualitative study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(23-24), pages 3388-3395, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:22:y:2013:i:23-24:p:3388-3395
    DOI: 10.1111/jocn.12362
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12362
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jocn.12362?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. James McParland & Paul M Camic, 2016. "Psychosocial factors and ageing in older lesbian, gay and bisexual people: a systematic review of the literature," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(23-24), pages 3415-3437, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:22:y:2013:i:23-24:p:3388-3395. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2702 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.