Evidence on the preparedness and practice needs of the home care workforce to support older LGBTQ+ people: a rapid review protocol

Introduction: Older people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or other marginalised sexualities and gender identities (LGBTQ+) still face significant barriers and inequalities when accessing adult social care services. Little is known about the preparedness of the care workforce to support older LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly within home care services. While a few previous reviews have examined the perspectives of older LGBTQ+ people on the preparedness of the home care workforce, none have included the perspectives of the workforce itself or compared both perspectives. This is a protocol for a rapid review that aims to explore what is known about the preparedness and practice needs of the home care workforce to support older LGBTQ+ people, with a particular focus on workforce perspectives.

Methods and analysis: A rapid review method was selected to expedite the review process to support further study development and dissemination. Two electronic databases, SCOPUS and Web of Science, will be searched, as well as six subject-specific databases, including Social Care Institute for Excellence, Skills for Care, Social Care Wales, Homecare Association, Stonewall UK, LGBT Foundation UK and SAGE US. There are no search date restrictions. Study quality will be assessed using the Quality Assessment with Diverse Studies tool and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations considerations will be used to consider certainty of evidence. Data will be synthesised using narrative synthesis, including a descriptive summary of included studies and their methodological quality. All preferred reporting items for review protocols have been included, as recorded by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required for the protocol and review. Manuscripts for the protocol and completed review will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, and findings will be shared in webinars for the home care workforce and at academic conferences.