Landmark Research
Leading the way in advancing health and longevity for generations that continue to carry forward legacies of care, resistance, and community
Aging with Pride: National Health,
Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study
Where community voices shape the future of aging and health.
Aging with Pride®: The National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS) is the first and largest longitudinal study of aging, health, and well-being of LGBTQ+ and sexual and gender diverse midlife and older adults in the United States. For more than 15 years we have followed more than 2,400 adults aged 50 to over 100-years old to understand how sexuality, gender, culture, and life experience shape health and well-being across time. This study has been supported by National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging under award add number (PI: Fredriksen-Goldsen).
This landmark project paints a vivid portrait of the complex relationships between both risk and strengths in the lives and aging experiences of sexual and gender diverse people and communities across multiple generations. It continues to illuminate disparities in health and social and economic security, while also highlighting resilience, activism, and community connection as powerful drivers of well-being.
Findings from this landmark study have directly shaped policy recommendations, guided provider training, and supported the development of culturally responsive services nationwide. The research also provides an important learning environment for students and practitioners. By elevating the voices of sexual and gender diverse older adults, the study advances scientific knowledge, and ensures these older adults are visible and valued in our understanding of aging. In partnership with community agencies serving sexual and gender diverse older adults in every census division across the U.S., Aging with Pride® continues to lead the way toward a more inclusive and equitable future for all older adults and their families.
Recent publications
Equity in Later Life: Lessons Learned from Aging With Pride, The National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS). The Gerontologist, 63(2), 373–381. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnac146
Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I., & Emlet, C. A. (Eds.). (2017). LGBT Aging Emerging from the Margins—Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS). The Gerontologist. [Supplement Issue]: Vol. 57 (suppl_1). https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw214
Hoy-Ellis, C. P., Kim, H.-J., Oswald, A. G., Nelson, C., & Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I. (2024). Transgender older adults’ prior military service: Mental health differences by gender identification. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 94(5), 591–599. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000747
Kim, H.-J., Romanelli, M., & Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. (2024). Multidimensional social connectedness of sexual and gender minority midlife and older adults: Findings from the National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 94(3), 322–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000726
Data Request Application
If you are a researcher who would like to use the 2010 National Health, Aging and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS) cross-sectional survey data, please complete this Data Request Application, including specific data elements/variables from the NHAS 2010 Survey Data Description document, and return the completed application to AgePride@uw.edu. The NHAS Data Access Review Committee generally meets quarterly (January, April, July, and October). Data is for academic purposes only.
Thank you to our Aging with Pride Community Partners
Center on Halsted
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 472-6469
FORGE Transgender Aging Network
Milwaukee, WI 53201
(414) 559-2123
GenPride
Seattle, WA 98122
info@genprideseattle.org
(206) 393-3400
GRIOT Circle
Brooklyn, NY. 11202
(718) 246-2775
Lexington Pride Center
Lexington, KY 40504
(859) 253-3233
LGBTQIA+ Aging Project (Fenway Health)
Boston, MA 02215
(857) 313-6590
Los Angeles LGBT Center
1125 N. McCadden Pl.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 993-7400
Mary’s House for Older Adults, Inc.
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 269-5736
Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
Milwaukee, WI 53212
(414) 271-2656
Missourians Aging with Pride
Ste 201
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 862-4900 (ext. 500)
Montrose Center
2nd Floor
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 529-0037
NOAGE – New Orleans Advocates for LGBTQ+ Elders
Openhouse
65 Laguna St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 296-8995
SAGE USA
15th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 741-2247
Seniors Out and Proud of Utah
Southern Arizona Senior Pride
The DC Center for LGBT Community
Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action (IDEA)
Translating cutting-edge research into real-world strategies that improve the lives of people with dementia and their care partners.
Building from our longitudinal study, we design and test evidence-based interventions to improve the health, well-being, and longevity of underserved and vulnerable, yet resilient communities.
Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action (IDEA) is a groundbreaking randomized control trial (RCT) for underserved older adults living with dementia and those who care for them. Tested with sexual and gender diverse older adults among the most health disparate of populations, IDEA creates a novel, culturally tailored approach that empowers and directly addresses stigma and access to resources. This project is supported by National Institutes of Health under award R01AG055488 (MPIs: Fredriksen-Goldsen and Teri),
IDEA uses an empowering, culturally tailored, stigma-reducing, cognitive-behavioral framework to:
- Improve physical activity and quality of life for older adults living with dementia and their care partners.
- Increase care partners’ knowledge of community resources, creating ripple effects of support beyond the immediate intervention.
- Sustain these improvements over time, long after completing the program.
This work matters because it responds directly to the urgent lack of culturally tailored dementia interventions for underserved communities. IDEA demonstrates that empowerment and inclusivity are not only possible, but essential – driving measurable improvements in health and well-being. Ready for translation into real-world settings, IDEA is transforming the landscape of dementia care and education across communities in our increasingly diverse society.
Recent publications
Fredriksen-Goldsen, K., Teri, L., Kim, H.J., Jones-Cobb, B., LaFazia, D., McKenzie, G., Petros, R., Jung, H., Oswald, A.G., Hoy-Ellis, C., & Emlet, C. (2024). Aging with Pride-IDEA: First RCT for Sexual and Gender Minority Older Adults Living with Dementia and Care Partners. Journal of American Geriatrics, in press. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.091558
Fredriksen Goldsen, K., Teri, L., Kim, H-J., La Fazia, D., McKenzie, G., Petros, R., Jung, H., Jones, B., Brown, C., Emlet, C. (2023). Design and development of the first randomized controlled trial of an intervention (IDEA) for sexual and gender minority older adults living with dementia and care partners. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 128, 107 143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2023.107143
Kim, H.-J., Fredriksen-Goldsen, K., & Jung, H. H. (2023). Determinants of physical functioning and health-related quality of life among sexual and gender minority older adults with cognitive impairment. Journal of Aging and Health, 35 (1-2), 138-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643221108658
IDEA: Care Café
Redefining dementia support by centering empowerment, connection, and community for older adults living with memory loss without a care partner.
Care Café, was developed from the nationally recognized Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action (IDEA) intervention. Designed and piloted tested for one of the most underserved populations, those living with dementia and memory loss without a care partner or caregiver. The program was tested with underserved populations, including LGBTQ+ and sexual and gender diverse adults. This groundbreaking project provides a supportive program for older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias and cognitive impairments, who often face exclusion from traditional care networks. This project is supported by the National Institutes of Health under award number 5P30AG034592-07 (MPIs: Fredriksen-Goldsen, Kim, & Teri).
Care Café:
- Improves physical functioning, mood, and quality of life.
- Teaches empowerment and reduces stigma and social exclusion.
- Strengthens resilience and peer connection through empowerment strategies and culturally tailored activities.
By directly addressing one of the most urgent gaps for those aging without traditional care partner support, Care Café offers a scalable, inclusive model that demonstrates how community-based approaches can transform dementia care and education.
Recent publications
Fredriksen-Goldsen KI, Kim HJ, Teri L, Jones-Cobb BR, Fazia D, Petros R, Berridge C, Prasad A, Oswald A, Emlet CA. Older adults living with Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia or mild cognitive impairment with no informal caregiver or care partner: IDEA Café, the first pilot randomized trial intervention for this underserved populations. Aging Mental Health. 2025 Aug;29(8):1398-1406. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2468893
Wellness with Pride
Exploring how everyday life and COVID-19 shape wellness across diverse communities.
Wellness with Pride is a nationwide project focused on the health and wellness of sexual and gender diverse American adults aged 18 and older. This groundbreaking project examines both the disparities and the powerful sources of strength that shape everyday life for sexual and gender diverse communities.
In partnership with community organizations across the nation, Wellness with Pride explores how everyday realities – access to housing, income, healthcare, and social support – impact health and well-being. The project also captures the profound impacts of COVID-19, showing how the pandemic intensified existing disparities while sparking new forms of resilience, activism, and community care amongst underserved communities.
Key findings from Wellness with Pride highlight how sexual and gender diverse American adults:
- Draw on resilience, activism, and peer networks to thrive in the face of ongoing challenges.
- Navigate barriers to housing, healthcare, and economic security.
- Respond in the face of COVID, revealing both new hardships – and new strengths.
By lifting the voices of underserved, yet resilient communities, Wellness with Pride provides essential insights that shape inclusive policies, healthcare practices, and community programs to ensure that future generations can live and age with dignity, health, and pride.
Recent publications
Romanelli, M., Fredriksen-Goldsen, K., & Kim, H. J. (2024). Development of a multidimensional measure of health care access among LGBTQ midlife and older adults in the United States. SSM-Health Systems, 3, 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmhs.2024.100011
Global Pride
Advancing global research on sexuality, gender, culture and longevity across generations, cultures, and societies.
Global Pride is a worldwide collaboration of more than 50 collaborators advancing research on sexual and gender diverse communities across differing cultural and social contexts, investigating health and well-being across the generations. Bringing together scholars and students from six continents, the project explores how sexuality, gender, aging, and well-being interact across diverse societies.
Launched with the Aging with Pride® preconference at the World Congress in 2017 this project resulted in landmark double-issue publication. In 2022, this collaborative project launched a global survey, and a special issue is currently under development and will feature 15 studies across six world regions offering new insights into longevity, perseverance, and health in sexual and gender diverse communities worldwide.
Through this project, we:
- Examine how cultural and social contexts shape the health and aging of LGBTQ+ communities across the globe.
- Investigate resilience, disparities, and pathways to flourishing across countries and generations.
- Strengthen international and interdisciplinary partnerships that support justice, belonging, and social inclusion through practice, policy and research.
Global Pride continues to expand its reach, building a global movement of knowledge and practice to advance the well-being for sexual and gender diverse people worldwide.
New special issue, In press, Global Pride Study, The Journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy.