The Study

There are a few main parts of this research project.

1) We are reviewing literature (both academic and non-academic) to learn more about what’s currently known about the preparedness of the home care workforce to support older LGBTQ+ people. The literature that we are reviewing draws upon perspectives from the home care workforce and LGBTQ+ people.

2) We are conducting a large-scale survey of people working in home care to gather their views and experiences with regards to supporting to older LGBTQ+ people. We aim to collect a minimum of 450 survey responses.

Link here: LEAP survey

We will interview a number of survey respondents (20 people in England and 20 people in Wales) so that we can learn more about the views and opinions they expressed in the survey

3) We will interview older LGBTQ+ people (ages 60 and over) about their experiences of receiving home care. We aim to interview older LGBTQ+ people who are currently receiving home care, or who have received home care within the last 10 years and currently live in the UK. We plan to interview 10 people in England and 10 people in Wales.

For those who are not able or not comfortable participating in an interview, we invite people who meet the interview criteria to submit a letter detailing their experience as an alternative option (link to information about how to submit a letter).

We are looking to develop case studies of good practice. We plan to interview the carers, partners, or spouses of about 5 participants who report positive experiences with home care services.

Co-design and dissemination: planning for impactful research

One of the key elements of this study is designing and conducting the research together with people who have lived experiences of being an older LGBTQ+ person or know what it’s like to provide and receive social care support. There are a couple different ways we are co-creating this study:

1. 1. 1. Co-researchers: We are working with a group of five “co-researchers”, who are people with lived experience of being LGBTQ+ and over 60 years old, and they are part of the research journey from the start. The co-researchers have helped us to design a guide for the interviews with older LGBTQ+ people who receive home care. Interviews will be co-facilitated by co-researchers and they will also input on analysing and disseminating the findings of this study.
      2. Steering group: Our steering group includes representatives from the home workforce, LGBTQ+ support organisations, policy, relevant academics, and people with lived experience. Our steering group members will advise on the development and conduct of the study and support our goal to conduct research that is impactful.

How will we share the findings of this research?

1. 1. • Our collaborators are the UK Homecare Association, Skills for Care, and Social Care Wales; together we will co-produce practice-oriented resources (such as guidelines) and share these via their communication channels.
      • We will work with the Homecare Association to organise an end-of-project event for home care providers to share findings from the study.
      • We will produce a short film to showcasing findings, including sector partners and their experience. This will be aimed at policy makers, people working in social care, and the public.
      • Publishing findings: we will publish research findings in academic journals, as well as blog and newsletter articles. We will also work with co-researchers to create a short ‘easy-read’ guide for older LGBTQ+ people about what to ask when first contacting services, what to expect when receiving home care, and how to raise concerns.