University of Hertfordshire

This special issue focuses on care in late life and at the end of life for people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, from an international perspective. We use the shorthand lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or trans (LGBT) for convenience ut it is important to recognise that this term (and related alternatives, such as LGBTQ, which are used by some authors in this special issue) are derived from Western theorisations of gender and sexuality and may not be recognisable or helpful in other contexts (Gosine, 2006). There is a growing body of research demonstrating that LGBT people are a diverse and under-researched new ageing population, but less attention has been paid to the specific issues connected to care in late life and at the end of life. While some of the issues will be similar to those facing all older people, existing research identifies separate issues that need to bead dressed for older LGBT people entering their later and last years of life and into death and bereavement.