Concomitant with this absence of information, many researchers have concluded that the needs of LGBT older adults have been ignored by most institutions in our society ( Dorfman et al., 1995 Quam & Whitford, 1992). The “graying of America” demands societal attention to the challenges and opportunities of the general older adult population this statement takes on a heightened importance with reference to the aging LGBT population whose specific needs and experiences remain largely unknown. Applying these percentages, the NGLTF Policy Institute estimates that one to three million Americans aged 65 and older are LGBT. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Policy Institute ( 1999) recommended the use of a conservative range of 3% to 8% to estimate the actual LGBT older adult population. Recently, publications from both the Institute of Medicine ( 2011) and the Williams Institute ( Gates, 2011) indicate that determining the size of the LGBT population remains challenging, but using available data, they estimate that 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), and an estimated 0.3% are transgender. These estimations are based on historical estimates of the overall LGBT population, which have ranged from as low as 1% to as high as 10% of the general population ( D’Augelli & Patterson, 1996 Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948 Kochman, 1997). Therefore, only rough estimations of the LGBT older adult population are presently available. In addition, the pervasive homophobic attitudes of society have discouraged the LGBT older adult population from “coming out” and being counted ( Hunter, 2007). However, obtaining accurate estimations of the current and projected LGBT older adult population has been problematic for a variety of reasons, but mostly due to the fact that sexual orientation has been absent in almost all major gerontological research studies ( Barranti & Cohen, 2000), especially federal surveys ( Institute of Medicine, 2011). Paralleling the overall older adult population, it can be assumed that the number and proportion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults will significantly increase over the next few decades. It is projected that by 2050, the United States may have as many people over the age of 85 as the current populations of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined ( Administration on Aging, 2010). Because life expectancy has increased, the number of individuals reaching the age of 85 or older will also dramatically increase. It is estimated that in 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 years of age or older. The accelerated pace of the aging population is most evident with the fact that beginning on January 1, 2011, approximately 10,000 “baby boomers” (e.g., those born between the years 19) will turn age 65 each day. During the next 25 years, as baby boomers reach later life, the number of American elders will almost double to 69.4 million. Currently, nearly 35 million Americans are aged 65 and older, representing 13% of the population, or one in eight Americans. population has tripled in the past century, the number of people aged 65 and older has increased 11-fold ( Administration on Aging, 2010 U.S. It is well documented that the population over the age of 65 within the United States and worldwide is dramatically increasing.
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