Willis, Paul

Loneliness is framed as an enduring problem for carers of all ages, including older carers; however, there is little examination of older men's experiences of caring, loneliness and social isolation. Based on interviews with 25 men (aged 68-92 years), we discuss findings from a study of older male carers' experiences of loneliness in England. Within their accounts, loneliness is framed as a future, rather than present, problem as caring provides a time-limited buffer to loneliness while concurrently increasing social isolation.

Tentative efforts have been made in UK government policy and through pockets of social work and social care research to recognise how sexuality and gender identity shape the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals providing care to others. In this article, we map the literature base of existing research in the field of LGBT care provision and outline themes of LGBT caring developed from a recent eight-month scoping exercise.