standards and accreditation processes could help to lift the ‘poor performers’ in the aged care sector. Collaboration between sectors While stakeholders reported much greater collaboration between the aged care sector and LGBTI organisations (facilitated and supported by the LGBTI Strategy), they also felt that further improvement in this area would strengthen the aged care sector’s ability to provide appropriate and inclusive care. ‘Non-LGBTI-specific services and agencies that develop LGBTI resources need to have better engagement with LGBTI consumers and organisations to ensure their inclusive practice materials are up-to-date and reflect current language, practices and understanding’ – consumer peak body. It was also noted that (particularly smaller and rural/regional) organisations (in both the aged care and LGBTI sectors) sometimes struggled to resource the collaborations required to deliver inclusive care (see also section 5.3.11 below). The intersection between the aged care and health sectors was also mentioned, with at least one stakeholder noting that the health sector has not yet undertaken the same level of work around inclusiveness as the aged care sector. Research, data and monitoring Stakeholders noted that a lack of data regarding numbers of LGBTI aged care consumers (often due to a perceived lack of safety that inhibits disclosure – see section 5.3.2) means it is difficult to assess levels of need or access to services for LGBTI people. While multidisciplinary research was noted to foster innovation, and be ‘good for promoting best practice’ (aged care provider), a number of stakeholders felt that more could be done – both in terms of more research and better translation of research into practice. One suggested that the use of client narratives, as well as other forms of data and evidence, could help to promote and support improvements in inclusive care. In particular, many stakeholders felt that data collection, evaluation and reporting has been a key element missing from the implementation of the LGBTI Strategy, as the initial commitment to annual reporting was replaced with this end of implementation review. Resourcing/funding A number of stakeholders spoke of the need to ‘maintain the momentum’ gained through the (particularly more recent) years of the LGBTI Strategy.
standards and accreditation processes could help to lift the ‘poor performers’ in the aged care sector. Collaboration between sectors While stakeholders reported much greater collaboration between the aged care sector and LGBTI organisations (facilitated and supported by the LGBTI Strategy), they also felt that further improvement in this area would strengthen the aged care sector’s ability to provide appropriate and inclusive care. ‘Non-LGBTI-specific services and agencies that develop LGBTI resources need to have better engagement with LGBTI consumers and organisations to ensure their inclusive practice materials are up-to-date and reflect current language, practices and understanding’ – consumer peak body. It was also noted that (particularly smaller and rural/regional) organisations (in both the aged care and LGBTI sectors) sometimes struggled to resource the collaborations required to deliver inclusive care (see also section 5.3.11 below). The intersection between the aged care and health sectors was also mentioned, with at least one stakeholder noting that the health sector has not yet undertaken the same level of work around inclusiveness as the aged care sector. Research, data and monitoring Stakeholders noted that a lack of data regarding numbers of LGBTI aged care consumers (often due to a perceived lack of safety that inhibits disclosure – see section 5.3.2) means it is difficult to assess levels of need or access to services for LGBTI people. While multidisciplinary research was noted to foster innovation, and be ‘good for promoting best practice’ (aged care provider), a number of stakeholders felt that more could be done – both in terms of more research and better translation of research into practice. One suggested that the use of client narratives, as well as other forms of data and evidence, could help to promote and support improvements in inclusive care. In particular, many stakeholders felt that data collection, evaluation and reporting has been a key element missing from the implementation of the LGBTI Strategy, as the initial commitment to annual reporting was replaced with this end of implementation review. Resourcing/funding A number of stakeholders spoke of the need to ‘maintain the momentum’ gained through the (particularly more recent) years of the LGBTI Strategy.