Abstracts from the 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Geriatrics Society

Background: Transgender older adults (TOA) are a vulnerable population who have and continue to face mistreatment, stigma, and discrimination when accessing healthcare.Evidence is needed to understand how to best support TOA navigating aging and end of life. Methods:A scoping review was conducted to consolidate and summarize current evidence and to identify areas for future study.Results: 63 articles were identified with 38 representing the lived experience of TOA, 22 pertaining to provision of care to TOA, and 3 involving both.Evidence synthesis resulted in the development of three major themes: health, mistreatment, and social connection/autonomy.TOA were found to be disproportionately burdened by multiple chronic conditions including a higher prevalence of depression and suicide.Preventative care such as vaccination and routine disease screening was disproportionally missed.TOA faced challenges with loneliness, mistreatment, and social resources.TOA feared non-affirming care in dependent living including the inability to live in the truth of their chosen gender.Gender affirming care in the TOA population improved quality of life.Care providers endorse a lack of knowledge regarding care of TOA and an interest in learning more.Discussion: Despite this focus on transgender individuals 65+, no articles meeting our inclusion criteria represented the lived experience of TOA in dependent living.Further, a lack of research with regards to gender affirming care and older bodies was raised by TOA and supported by this review.Research is needed to identify how to best support TOA in healthcare settings.Conclusions: Care providers must consider chronic disease burden, routine preventative care, and the benefits of gender affirming care when serving TOA.Research is needed to establish best practices for care providers and to facilitate TOA informed decision making.