Drs. Flatt, Greene, Dubbin, and Deutsch have been awarded a $75,000 Team Science RAP Grant on The Role of Affordable LGBTQ Age-Friendly Housing on the Health of LGBTQ Older Adults

Jason Flatt, PhD, MPH, Meredith Greene, MD, Leslie Dubbin, RN, PhD, and Madeline Deutsch, MD, MPH have been awarded a $75,000 Team Science RAP Grant on The Role of Affordable LGBTQ Age-Friendly Housing on the Health of LGBTQ Older Adults: A Natural Experiment. The study will be funded jointly by the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and the Academic Senate. Advisors on the project include Drs. Margot Kushel and John Neuhaus. Below is more about our project. 

The Role of Affordable LGBTQ Age-Friendly Housing on the Health of LGBTQ Older Adults: A Natural Experiment 
LGBTQ older adults in San Francisco face significant challenges in obtaining housing due to the lack of affordable housing, increased discrimination, and greater socioeconomic and health challenges. This study will examine the influence of affordable housing on the health of LGBTQ older adults. By partnering with Openhouse, a nonprofit organization in San Francisco, we will: 1) conduct focus groups with up to 24 LGBTQ older adults currently housed at 55 Laguna to learn about their lived experiences and health; and 2) assess the effects of LGBTQ age-friendly elder housing on QoL using a natural experiment (e.g., randomization via a housing lottery). This project builds on an existing and highly promising collaboration among a team of UCSF researchers. Over the past year, we have developed a community partnership with Openhouse on the housing and health needs of LGBTQ older adults. This study is a natural extension of our current work and will support a longitudinal study on the role of LGBTQ age-friendly housing on the health of LGBTQ older adults nationally.