Applied patient-level palliative care interventions designed to meet the needs of sexual and gender minorities: A scoping review and qualitative content analysis of how to support sexual and gender minorities at end of life

Abstract

Background: Sexual and gender minorities experience considerable health disparities across the life span. End of life presents unique challenges for this population, further exacerbating existing disparities. Aim: We aimed to identify applied patient-level palliative care interventions for sexual and gender minorities and describe how said interventions met the needs of these populations at end of life. Design: We conducted a scoping review in keeping with the updated Arksey and O’Malley Framework. All included reports were analyzed qualitatively to describe the intervention and summarize thematically how it met the needs of sexual and gender minorities at end of life. Data sources: We conducted searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo, and CINAHL from 1946 to June 10, 2023. Reports were eligible for inclusion if they described a palliative care intervention delivered to sexual and gender minorities, and if the palliative care intervention responded to at least one specific need of the sexual and gender minority population(s) in question. Results: We included and summarized 27 reports. We identified three overarching themes describing how palliative care interventions responded to the needs of sexual and gender minorities at end of life. Conclusions: This review responds to a need to improve palliative care delivery for sexual and gender minorities. Recommendations derived from these interventions, including how to center and advocate for sexual and gender minorities at end of life, can be applied by any interdisciplinary palliative care provider.