Qualitative Research With LGBTQ Older Adults and Older Adults Living With HIV/AIDS During COVID-19

In this symposium, researchers will discuss conceptual and practical challenges to conducting qualitative research with older LGBTQ+ adults and older adults living with HIV/AIDS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers who conduct studies with LGBTQ+ populations and with older adults living with HIV/AIDS already face challenges in recruiting and retaining large enough sample sizes. Social distancing guidelines during the pandemic prohibited many researchers from conducting in-person studies. Conducting health and social science research entirely online may have its challenges when working with these older adult populations, but it may also present new opportunities for reaching hidden or hard-to-reach groups. Presenters draw on their recent experiences conducting semi-structured interviews, online surveys, and qualitative analyses of public records to illuminate the complex considerations of conducting research remotely with LGBTQ+ older adults and older adults living with HIV/AIDS. Presenters also discuss how conducting remote research with these populations may require methodological changes in study design in order to collect the most meaningful and reliable data from research participants. Ultimately, COVID-19 has required researchers to alter or change their methods of conducting research. As the internet becomes more heavily relied upon for conducting research, it is imperative that scholars in LGBTQ+ aging and HIV/AIDS consider the potential challenges and opportunities that online research presents for their studies, and for research participants who are living with HIV/AIDS or who identify as LGBTQ+.