BIO

I am originally from Weston, FL and currently studying Biological Sciences at Florida State University on a pre-medical track.

PLWH and LGBT Elder Abuse: A Systematic Review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Members of the LGBTQ+ community are susceptible to multiple forms of
stigma and violence, namely homophobia, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, hate
crimes and domestic violence. People living with HIV/Aids (PLWH) are subjected to similar
expressions of prejudice due to the lingering stigma and lack of education regarding the disease,
almost half a century after the AIDS epidemic began to grip the United States. However, a
commonly overlooked intersection of these two groups is the hate and abuse specifically targeted
towards LGBTQ+ people or PLWH who are older than middle-aged. Little research has been
focused on the impact that being an older PLWH or LGBTQ+ member has on the likelihood of
experiencing violence and discrimination.
GOALS: This study is a systematic review that seeks to analyze existing literature written on
this topic, aiming to understand the prevalence of stigma and violence affecting these groups.
The platform Covidence was used to analyze the abstracts of over 10,000 research articles, in
order to select those meeting the proper criteria to then be reviewed (original work, LGBTQ+ or
PLWH subjects over the age of 50, mentions of violence including discrimination and physical
abuse). The articles that met this criteria then will have their full texts reviewed in order to have
both qualitative and quantitative data extracted. This project is ongoing.

Keywords: systematic review, discrimination, stigma