Main Research Areas:
Palliative and end of life care; bisexual ageing; care and housing in old age
Biography:
Kathryn Almack is Professor of Health and Family Lives in the School of Health and Social Work, University of Hertfordshire. She is a sociologist whose research has had a substantial focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) older people, ageing and end of life care. Her ground-breaking research in this area includes:
- Working with the Government’s National End of Life Care Programme 2008-2013 to address inequalities in end of life care facing LGBT people Three major studies funded by the Marie Curie Research Programme
- The Last Outing: the UK’s largest study on the experiences and needs at the end of life for LGBT people aged 60+
- ACCESSCare A: Exploring access to and delivery of palliative care for all LGBT people
- ACCESSCare B: Bereavement outcomes for LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) and heterosexual partners: a population-based cross-sectional mixed methods study
- Improving care home environments for LGBT residents and staff
- The first studies to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practice of staff in care homes towards LGBT residents
- An innovative Research Council funded seminar series on gaps in knowledge about LGBT ageing. This culminated in a book, Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Adults: Minding the Knowledge Gaps published by Routledge in 2019.
Kathryn has an established national and international reputation in this field. She has co-edited a number of international collections for special journal issues and another book collection ‘Intersections of Ageing, Gender and Sexualities: Multi-Disciplinary International Perspectives’ (Policy Press, 2019). Findings from her research have fed into a number of UK government consultations about inequalities in end of life care and been used to develop new resources for policy makers, health and social care professionals. Kathryn has a previous background in community development work and maintains a strong commitment to user involvement in research.
Selected Works:
Makita, M., Bahena, A. & Almack, K. (2020) The role of sexual orientation, age, living arrangements and self-rated health in planning for end-of-life care for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) older people in the UK. Sexualities. OnlineFirst. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460720932381
Almack, K. and King A. (2019) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans Aging in a U.K. Context: Critical Observations of Recent Research Literature. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development. 89(1): 93–107
Almack, K (2019) ‘I Didn’t Come Out to Go Back in the Closet’: Ageing and end of life care for older LGBT people. In King, A., Almack, K., Suen T-Y and Westwood, S (2019) Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans People: Minding the Knowledge Gaps. London: Routledge, 158-171
Bristowe, K., Hodson, M., Wee, B., Almack, K., Johnson, K., Daveson, B. A., Koffman, J., McEnhill, L. & Harding, R. (2018) Recommendations to reduce inequalities for LGBT people facing advanced illness: ACCESSCare national qualitative interview study. Palliative Medicine. 32 (1), 23-35.
Willis, P., Almack, K., Hafford-Letchfield, T., Simpson, P., Billings, B. & Mall, N. (2018) Turning the Co-Production Corner: Methodological Reflections from an Action Research Project to Promote LGBT Inclusion in Care Homes for Older People. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15 (4), p E695. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040695
Almack, K., Jones, R. L., Scicluna, R. M. (2018) Bisexuality and ageing: why it matters for social work practice. In Dunk-West, P. and Hafford-Letchfield, P. (editors). Sexuality, Sexual and Gender Identities and Intimacy Research in Social Work and Social Care: a Lifecourse Epistemology. London: Routledge, 142-154
Simpson, P, Almack K, and Walthery, P. (2018) ‘We Treat them All the Same’: A Survey of attitudes, knowledge and practices of staff concerning LGB&T residents in care homes for old people. Ageing and Society 38 (5): 869-899. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X1600132X