Reducing social isolation for LGBTQ+ people with dementia - Video

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people living with dementia have diverse and complex support needs.

Previous research shows that after lifetimes of discrimination, LGBTQ+ people with dementia often do not have families they can rely on and do not want to use health or aged care services because of bad experiences in the past.

In this project, Dr Louisa Smith designed resources that aimed to support volunteer visitors to engage with LGBTQ+ people living with dementia.

These resources were co-designed by people with living experience and addressed volunteer visitor skills, capacity, and emotional experience to allow community visitors to make and maintain connections, friendships, and companionship with LGBTQ+ people living with dementia.

These resources, including cheat sheets and a visitor guidebook, are now available on ACVVS websites and have been integrated as part of volunteer training. A community of practice will also be created to support and build volunteer capacity and form a preliminary platform for new research.