VIRTUAL Food for Thought – LGBTQ - Inclusive Hospice Care

Hospice care is not only designed to make a patient comfortable, but to support all of their end of life wishes. This can range from the medical care they choose to receive to their celebration of life. Understanding everyone’s needs is imperative in providing quality and compassionate care. Everyone deserves an end of life with dignity and respect; education to staff, loved ones, caregivers, and volunteers is essential. People who identify as LGBTQ+ may have specific experiences, needs and preferences that health and social care professionals can be aware of so that they can provide the best end of life care.*

Join us to learn about the issues affecting LGBTQ+ people at end of life.

LGBTQ+ terms and their meanings*

Lesbian – refers to a woman whose sexual and/or emotional attraction is towards women.

Gay – a man whose sexual and/or emotional attraction is towards men, or a woman whose sexual and/or emotional attraction is towards women. Some women prefer the term lesbian.

Bi – refers to people whose sexual and/or emotional attraction is towards more than one gender. Bi people may describe themselves using a variety of terms including bisexual, pan sexual, bi-curious, queer and other terms.

Trans – an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or doesn’t sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.

The Q can stand for queer or questioning. In the past queer was used as a derogatory term for LGBTQ+ individuals. The term has now been reclaimed by some LGBTQ+ people but may still be viewed as derogatory by some people.

Questioning is the process of someone exploring their own sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

The + represents other sexual identities including, pansexual, asexual and intersex. See below for definitions of these, and other, terms.

Presenter: Lavina Tomer, Program Manager Southern Arizona Senior Pride End of Life Planning Program

* MarieCurie.org