91̽�� President Ana Mari Cauce on Wednesday participated in a “must-watch” panel, ““, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The panel’s focus on creating safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ youth drew on the panelists’ diverse experiences in a discussion of how schools and families can work to combat issues of mental illness and suicide among LGBTQ+ youth.

President Cauce was invited to take part in order to share her perspective as a trained clinical psychologist whose research is focused on risk and resilience among adolescents with a special emphasis on at-risk youth.

She was joined by Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu; Prime Minister and Minister for Communications, Media and Digitization of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel; founder of GenderProud Geena Rocero and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Shamina Singh.

For more information, contact:
Kiyomi Taguchi: ktaguchi@uw.edu / 206-685-2716
or 91̽��News: 206-543-2580

Starting this academic year, the 91̽�� is implementing an option allowing students and other members of the 91̽��community to express what pronouns they go by in their everyday lives.

The 91̽��Office of the Registrar plans to integrate pronoun use into class rosters as early as winter quarter if resources and schedule allow.

“Providing instructors with their students’ self-identified pronouns is our highest priority so that faculty don’t have to assume them based on name or appearance,” said Helen Garrett, 91̽��Registrar.

On (Oct. 16) the 91̽�� community is invited to celebrate the ways in which using someone’s pronouns have a positive impact on the community as a whole.

“Respectful pronoun use cultivates a safer, more inclusive and welcoming community for everyone,” said Jen Self, director of the 91̽��.

International Pronouns Day is a day of celebration that “seeks to make respecting, sharing and educating about personal pronouns commonplace,” according to its website.

For ideas on how to participate, and information on plans to add a pronoun option at the UW, please visit the on pronouns.

The 91̽�� has been ranked the in the state by Forbes. The 91̽��also topped the national for LGBTQIA+ students published by Best Colleges, an organization that ranks higher education institutions in various categories.

The ranking puts the 91̽��as the top academic employer in the state and the No. 1 public institution to work for. The fifth overall ranking follows private companies Costco, Google, Boeing and Nordstrom. Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to pinpoint the organizations liked best by employees in the magazine’s first state-by-state ranking of America’s best employers.

Separately, named the 91̽��as the No. 1 school for LGBTQIA+ students. The publication pointed out the UW’s welcoming admissions fairs, Q Center and as some of the university’s pride points. Academic pursuit of LGBTQIA+ topics with an engaged faculty also helped put the 91̽��on top.

Earlier this year, Forbes ranked the 91̽��as one of the in the U.S.

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) older adults in Seattle and King County is expected to double by 2030, and they face higher risks of disability, poor health, mental distress and isolation — along with a social service sector unequipped to deal with their needs.

That’s the conclusion of a study released Oct. 6 and led by professor and colleagues at the The study identifies widespread social and health disparities experienced by LGBTQ older adults in Seattle and King County who, Fredriksen-Goldsen said, have unique needs and multiple barriers to accessing appropriate care.

“LGBTQ older adults face very high levels of victimization and discrimination, which increase their risk of significant social and health disparities,” said Fredriksen-Goldsen, a 91̽��professor of social work and director of the school’s Hartford Center for Excellence.

“The obstacles and inequalities they face can jeopardize their health in later life and make them reluctant to seek out aging and other support services.”

The study surveyed 203 LGBTQ people aged 50 to 85 in Seattle and King County and found that:

• More than two-thirds of participants have experienced three or more incidents of victimization in their lifetimes; almost 70 percent had been verbally assaulted and 40 percent threatened with physical violence.
• More than one in five participants visited the emergency room in the previous year.
• Despite the majority of respondents being college graduates, nearly one-quarter were living below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
• Participants were at high risk of social isolation — more than 45 percent live alone.
• Most human service providers lack adequate training to serve LGBTQ older adults; 16 percent of participants reported being denied services or given inferior care based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
• One in six participants were fearful of obtaining services outside the LGBTQ community.

One of the main barriers facing LGBTQ older adults is a lack of service providers skilled at understanding them and their particular needs, Fredriksen-Goldsen said.

“Many providers lack the communication skills to talk with LGBTQ older adults about their lives,” she said. “For example, if a transgender older adult needs nursing home care, the staff often has no idea how to treat the person respectfully and ensure appropriate care.

“So LGBTQ older adults are often reluctant to seek services and may be forced back into the closet, because they don’t know if they’re going to have culturally appropriate providers.”

And while societal awareness about LGBTQ people has increased dramatically in the past few decades, Fredriksen-Goldsen said the older members of that population remain largely invisible.

“People don’t think they exist,” she said. “When they think of LGBTQ people, they think of young people. What we often hear from providers is, ‘I really want to help support those people, but we don’t have any of them here.’”

On the upside, the survey found that despite their challenging circumstances, many LGBTQ older adults have developed supportive communities and 90 percent were satisfied with their lives. The majority exercised regularly, and nearly half attended religious services or participated in spiritual activities.

The study is part of a , The National Health, Aging and Sexuality Study: Caring and Aging with Pride over Time, that Fredriksen-Goldsen and colleagues are conducting. Launched in 2010, the project involves surveying more than 2,400 LGBTQ adults aged 50 to 99 across the United States and is the first nationwide longitudinal study examining the health and well-being of LGBTQ aging adults.

While Seattle is known as one of the most progressive cities in the country, Fredriksen-Goldsen said it is surprisingly lacking in services for aging LGBTQ people. Accordingly, she is leading a proposal to develop and test an evidence-based training program for health and human services professionals in Seattle and King County. The one-year pilot program would provide support, resources and referrals for LGBTQ older adults and their families and caregivers, and would aim to train 100 practitioners.

Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen is proposing that the city provide half the cost of funding for the program, or $75,000. The remainder would be provided in-kind by Aging with Pride. Rasmussen’s proposal must still be approved by the city council and Mayor Ed Murray.

The pilot program would increase the knowledge and skills of service providers and could translate to a significant improvement in the quality of care provided to LGBTQ aging adults, Fredriksen-Goldsen said.

“As Seattle and King County’s population ages and becomes increasingly diverse, there is a growing need for providers who are trained to work with LGBTQ older adults,” she said. “This initiative is an important first step in helping to address that need.”

Finding from the study can be found in the report .” Report co-authors are 91̽��School of Social Work research associate Chengshi Shiu, research scientist Hyun-Jun Kim, professor Charles Emlet and project manager Jayn Goldsen.

The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG026526 (Fredriksen-Goldsen, PI).

Harborview Medical Center, 91̽��Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, Valley Medical Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance each met criteria for inclusion in the 2013 , a nationwide analysis. Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is a consortium comprising 91̽��Medicine, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s.

“Our hospitals take pride in creating a welcoming environment and providing inclusive care to all patients and families,” said Johnese Spisso, chief health system officer, 91̽��Medicine, and 91̽��vice president for medical affairs. “We are proud to demonstrate 91̽��Medicine’s commitment to equal access for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community members.”

This year, 464 facilities nationwide, nearly double last year’s total of 234, met the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s survey criteria in four core areas of policy and training:

• Equal patient access to care
• Equal visitation access for same-sex partners and parents
• Equal access to employment
• Completion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health education by key hospital staff

“These kinds of indices are useful in that they allow you to see the standard of care in our country, so you can meet or exceed it,” said Dr. Shilpen Patel, a 91̽��Medicine radiation oncologist and secretary to the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation. He also just finished a six-year term on the board of Equal Rights Washington.

“I’m a cancer doctor,” he said. “It’s very difficult for patients to get through care without their support network. Families in the LGBT community come in different shapes, and when patients aren’t afraid to bring in their spouse or partner or their kids, it’s a healthier experience for everyone. This is us delivering the patient-centered care that we talk about.”