Aging gay male veterans: a community-based study on their health and psychosocial needs

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons have served in the military throughout history despite military policies that necessitated concealment of their sexual orientation. This secondary data analysis of research from a community-based study of sexual and gender minority (SGM) older adults sought to explore the unique needs of this growing "out" population and identify the future program, policy, and research goals. The sampling population for this study was drawn from a community-based study conducted initially by researchers from the ACRIA center. The SGM veterans in this pilot study were recruited from the Center on Halstead, the largest SGM community-based center in the Midwest. Twenty-six veterans' self-identified as gay men. Considering the minority stress model, data from this study identified a group of men with less social support - either formal or informal, less housing and economic security, and low service utilization. Interestingly, this group also self-reported as having a more positive mental and physical health outlook than previous research with this population. This study also identified a clear need for education, more extensive population-based mixed methods studies to help understand fully the needs of this previously "invisible" population of older military veterans.