NY24-09: Barriers to Social Security Administration Application and Interaction Encountered by Older Adults who have LGBTQ+ or Gender-Diverse Identities

Abstract/Specific Aims:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) office is the most frequently reported government service used by LGBTQ+ older adults (range 43% to 63%), and they face numerous barriers when accessing aging services. But the extent of barriers due to implicit bias on the part of SSA staff in accessing benefits is unknown.

No research could be identified that examined what barriers exist for LGBTQ+ older adults in applying for SSA benefits or difficulties interacting with this agency due to implicit bias. But help accessing entitlements is a primary service need among LGBTQ+ older adults (range 23% to 44%), strongly suggesting these issues may also exist regarding application for SSA benefits and SSA staff interactions and may be associated with implicit bias on the part of agency staff.

To address this gap, we propose a community-based participatory research study of barriers faced by LGBTQ+ older adults in applying for SSA benefits and interacting with SSA offices. A community advisory board (CAB) of LGBTQ+ older adults will be convened. We will recruit 20 LGBTQ+ people for two focus groups and a comparator focus group of 10 heterosexual, cisgender older adults, along with five professionals for key informant interviews. We will use thematic inductive analysis with group comparisons by LGBTQ+ status using conceptual matrices to identify implicit bias.