An Agentic Familiarity: The Context of HIV/AIDS and Sexual Orientation for Older Canadians during the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Published:2023-10-31
Issue:21
Volume:11
Page:2869
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ISSN:2227-9032
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Container-title:Healthcare
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Healthcare
Author:
de Vries Brian12ORCID, Gutman Gloria2ORCID, Beringer Robert23, Gill Paneet2, Karbakhsh Mojgan2
Affiliation:
1. Gerontology Program, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA 2. Department of Gerontology/Gerontology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3, Canada 3. School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
Abstract
This paper examines how experiences with a previous pandemic, particularly HIV/AIDS, may have informed approaches to COVID-19, with a focus on sexual orientation. Method: The sample was drawn from an online survey of Canadians 55+ conducted in 2020, comprising 1143 persons (mean age = 67; 88 gay or bisexual (GB) men, 65 lesbian or bisexual (LB) women, 818 heterosexual women, and 172 heterosexual men). Respondents reported if they, or someone close to them, “had been affected by” one or more pandemics and whether COVID-19 led them to “think more about their prior epidemic/pandemic experiences” and/or feel they “couldn’t handle it again”. Correlated items reflecting feeling “they have been here before”; “prepared for what is happening”; and “like they needed to act or do something” formed a scale named “agentic familiarity”. Results: About half of respondents reported thinking about their previous pandemic experience; about 5% reporting feeling like “they couldn’t handle it again” with no gender or sexual orientation differences. Higher agentic familiarity scores were found for GB men and for those with experience with HIV/AIDS vs. other pandemics. Discussion: These outcomes speak to resilience and growth experienced by LGBT (and especially GB) persons through shared stigma and trauma—with implications for current pandemic experiences and future actions, like advance care planning.
Funder
Canadian Frailty Network Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program
Subject
Health Information Management,Health Informatics,Health Policy,Leadership and Management
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