Resource Center

It is estimated that by 2030 there will be approximately 7 million LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. who are 50 and older. LGBTQ+ older people face unique challenges as we age. LGBTQ+ elders are: Twice as likely to be single and live alone, four times less likely to have children, far more likely to have faced discrimination and social stigma, and more likely, therefore, to face poverty and homelessness, and to have poor health.

In this GeriPal podcast (44:53 minutes), Melisa Wong, a geriatric oncologist, and Louise Walter, a geriatrician and leader in cancer screening for older adults, talk about the shifting landscape of geriatric oncology, including: 1) How to think about cancer screening in older adults, moving beyond a one-size-fits all age-based approach to individualize cancer screening decisions.

In the GeriPal podcast (48:38 minutes), Deborah Ejem, a medical sociologist and Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Alabama Birmingham, and Deep Ashana, a pulmonary critical care physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University, discuss structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism as well as how these different but related constructs negatively impact the care of older adults and people with serious illness.

In this GeriPal podcast (49:17 minutes), Juliet Jacobsen and Rachelle Bernacki discuss the ongoing debate in academic circles about the value Advance Care Planning (ACP), how to think about definitions of ACP vs serious illness communication, what should go into high quality conversations, the evidence for and against any of this, and ultimately where we go from here. Also included is a Venn diagram of advance care planning and serious illness communication.

Based on an earlier study finding that older adults who survive sepsis are likely to develop new functional and cognitive deficits after they leave the hospital, in this GeriPal podcast (46:44 minutes), Lauren Ferrante and Julien Cobert discuss their own research and the idea that for critically ill patients in the ICU, geriatric conditions like disability, frailty, multimorbidity, and dementia should be viewed through a wider lens of what patients are like before and after the ICU event.

In this GeriPal podcast (55:57 minutes) guests Susan Hickman, Sean Morrison, Rebecca Sudore, and Bob Arnold discuss advance care planning.

Age-related hearing loss affects about 2/3rd of adults over age 70 years and that self-reported hearing loss increases during the last years of life. Screening for addressing hearing loss should be an integral part of what we do in geriatrics and palliative care, but it often is either a passing thought or completely ignored. In this GeriPal podcast (49:37 minutes), Nick Reed and Megan Wallhagen discuss hearing loss in geriatrics and palliative care.

In this GeriPal podcast (45:18 minutes) Kate Courtright, a critical care and palliative care physician-researcher who conducts trials of palliative care, is interviewed. Kate discusses how despite how far we've come in palliative care research, we still do not have answers to some fundamental questions, such as: (1) who should get specialized palliative care? Should eligibility and access be determined by clinician referral? By diagnosis? By prognosis?

Recognizing that the unique needs of senior victims of sexual violence are not being met, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging partnered to administer a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to create an organized statewide approach to addressing elder sexual abuse. The overall goal of this project is to insure an appropriate response to sexual abuse that will not further traumatize the elder victim, but aid in his or her healing from the profound emotional and physical injury resulting from the sexual violence.

Facts and tips on grief for children are provided below: