HIV Prevention and Older Adults
How many times have you seen a billboard with the message that older adults may be at risk for HIV? How many times have you heard of an HIV testing campaign targeting your grandmother? How many programs do you know of that teach your father how to practice his condom skills? From the amount of attention it gets, you'd never think that older adults are at risk for HIV or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Many people don't want to imagine their parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts engaging in any behavior that might place them at risk for HIV.
Even service providers with patients who might look like their older relatives have difficulty asking questions related to sexual or substance use history, or to offer an HIV test, much less any HIV risk education. Doctors are not immune to the ageist stereotypes of our society, and this can be a problem both in prevention and diagnosis of HIV in seniors. The doctor who does not see past the silver hair may not ask older patients about their sexual activity or drug use and may not give the prevention information that is routine for younger patients. Age is not a barrier to HIV -- we are all at risk.
The risk factors for infection are the same regardless of age: unprotected sex or sharing needles. We tend not to think of older people as being sexually active or using drugs, but a Columbia University study showed that 45% of people over 50 reported risk factors, including multiple partners, STDs, and alcohol or drug use.
HIV has become a significant national problem among older adults. The rates of infection in this group continue to increase, with 28% of people with HIV in 2006 being over 45, compared with 22% in 2001. According to the CDC, in 2009 this group accounted for 29% of all new HIV diagnoses. The CDC estimates that by 2015, half of all people with HIV in the U.S. will be over 50, and that more than a third will be women. The longer survival of people diagnosed earlier in life also accounts for much of the increasing number of older adults with HIV.
Contrary to stereotypical beliefs, older adults long for active, satisfying sex lives. The fact that sexual contact is the most common HIV transmission route among older adults confirms the presence of both sexual activity and sexual risk behaviors among this population. Results from national surveys examining the sexual activity among persons over the age of 60 indicate that more than 92% consider sex an important part of life and that 75% of those between 65 and 74 considered themselves sexually active. Although little is known about the sexual behaviors of older adults with HIV, new data suggest that sexually active older adults are engaging in risky sexual behaviors.
Although risk-reduction interventions tailored for the needs of people with HIV have begun to demonstrate promising results, only a few have focused on HIV-positive older adults. They include:
Although the CDC funds HIV interventions that use its Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) program, none of the funded organizations target older adults. Perhaps there is a belief that HIV prevention is the same for everyone. There has long been a need to tailor approaches to target specific groups. Why hasn't the CDC made any attempt to fund a program that creates an HIV intervention for older adults?
Old and Young
Research has found differences between older adults and their younger counterparts in terms of sexual knowledge, risk behaviors, and biological factors, showing the need for age-appropriate interventions. Older age has been linked with having incorrect information about prevention, including the need to protect oneself during high-risk behaviors. In contrast with younger people, many older adults do not consider unprotected sex a high-risk behavior because many are no longer concerned about birth control, making them less likely to use condoms. Studies suggest that older adults' knowledge of the seriousness of HIV may not affect their perceived threat of AIDS or their use of condoms.
Multiple health problems and age-related physical changes may make older adults particularly vulnerable to HIV. For example, postmenopausal women are at greater risk for HIV because of the fragility of the vaginal mucosa, due to decreased levels of estrogen. In addition, older patients may progress more quickly from HIV to AIDS. Furthermore, there is often a delay in diagnosis due to clinicians underestimating the risk for HIV among older adults and common HIV symptoms being mistaken for signs of aging. More importantly, older adults may not seek testing because they do not believe themselves to be at risk. Thus, cultural, biological, and behavioral vulnerabilities may make efforts to target high-risk sexual behaviors even more critical in the older population.
We must take into account the special needs of older adults and involve a variety of groups who have not traditionally been associated with HIV prevention efforts. Strategies for extending successful interventions to the entire over-50 population need development and evaluation.
Luis Scaccabarrozzi is Director of the HIV Health Literacy Program at ACRIA.
This article was provided by ACRIA and GMHC. It is a part of the publication Achieve. Visit ACRIA's website and GMHC's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
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