Page 85 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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fessionals must be educated to provide culturally competent and inclusive integrating the needs of LGBT+ older adults into health and social care education 83
care (Dentato et al., 2014; Canon et al., 2017, Smith et al., 2019). A lack of cul-
tural competency and knowledge about working with LGBT+ older adults is
often observed among professionals (Portz et al., 2014; Simpson et al., 2018;
Kortes-Miller et al., 2019) and is missing from curricula and textbooks (De
Guzman et al., 2018)
Methods
Between 2018 and 2020, the partners of the European project “Being Me”
(https://beingme.eu/) took up the challenges presented and explored good ed-
ucational practices on the needs and specific living conditions of LGBT+ older
adults. The innovative participatory method “World Café” (World Café Com-
munity Foundation, 2015), a group dialog method, was used to bring stake-
holders (LGBT+ older adults, practitioners, researchers, students, professors
and teachers) together to document their lived experiences, knowledge and
resources. Two ‘World Cafés’ were organized in Amsterdam (June 2018) and
Dublin (October 2018) with a total of 78 participants and both events were eval-
uated with a questionnaire (see Hafford-Letchfield et al., 2021). The project also
included research into the national contexts of the participating partners and
the publication of two systematic literature reviews on approaches to education
on LGBT+ older adults and the impact of such education on health and social
care staff (see Jurček et al., 2021; Higgins et al., 2019a).
Results
Use of World Café method
In the first World Café, participants shared their personal experiences of care,
highlighted the role of educators in health and social care, and formulated in-
itial ideas about the knowledge and skills that future professionals should be
equipped with to provide more inclusive and safer care. A variety of approaches
and methods were used during the event, including storytelling, mixed group
discussions on relevant topics and arts-based sessions. The groups invariably
included diverse stakeholders from different partner countries (UK, Ireland,
Netherlands and Slovenia) and stakeholder groups. This led to more lively dis-
cussions and followed the principle of ‘nothing about us, without us’, meaning
that discussions about the experiences and needs of LGBT+ older adults always
included someone with personal experience. Smaller group discussions were
later presented to the whole group and the results were documented and collat-
ed by members of the Being Me team.
The second World Café followed a few months later and was dedicated to
exploring specific methods and useful resources that can be used in profession-
al education and training. Participants, particularly researchers, policy mak-
ers, practitioners and educators, were asked to bring examples of good practice,
which were then presented in smaller groups, evaluated and discussed with
care (Dentato et al., 2014; Canon et al., 2017, Smith et al., 2019). A lack of cul-
tural competency and knowledge about working with LGBT+ older adults is
often observed among professionals (Portz et al., 2014; Simpson et al., 2018;
Kortes-Miller et al., 2019) and is missing from curricula and textbooks (De
Guzman et al., 2018)
Methods
Between 2018 and 2020, the partners of the European project “Being Me”
(https://beingme.eu/) took up the challenges presented and explored good ed-
ucational practices on the needs and specific living conditions of LGBT+ older
adults. The innovative participatory method “World Café” (World Café Com-
munity Foundation, 2015), a group dialog method, was used to bring stake-
holders (LGBT+ older adults, practitioners, researchers, students, professors
and teachers) together to document their lived experiences, knowledge and
resources. Two ‘World Cafés’ were organized in Amsterdam (June 2018) and
Dublin (October 2018) with a total of 78 participants and both events were eval-
uated with a questionnaire (see Hafford-Letchfield et al., 2021). The project also
included research into the national contexts of the participating partners and
the publication of two systematic literature reviews on approaches to education
on LGBT+ older adults and the impact of such education on health and social
care staff (see Jurček et al., 2021; Higgins et al., 2019a).
Results
Use of World Café method
In the first World Café, participants shared their personal experiences of care,
highlighted the role of educators in health and social care, and formulated in-
itial ideas about the knowledge and skills that future professionals should be
equipped with to provide more inclusive and safer care. A variety of approaches
and methods were used during the event, including storytelling, mixed group
discussions on relevant topics and arts-based sessions. The groups invariably
included diverse stakeholders from different partner countries (UK, Ireland,
Netherlands and Slovenia) and stakeholder groups. This led to more lively dis-
cussions and followed the principle of ‘nothing about us, without us’, meaning
that discussions about the experiences and needs of LGBT+ older adults always
included someone with personal experience. Smaller group discussions were
later presented to the whole group and the results were documented and collat-
ed by members of the Being Me team.
The second World Café followed a few months later and was dedicated to
exploring specific methods and useful resources that can be used in profession-
al education and training. Participants, particularly researchers, policy mak-
ers, practitioners and educators, were asked to bring examples of good practice,
which were then presented in smaller groups, evaluated and discussed with
