HIV & Aging

Existing health and social services are barely able to meet the needs of older people with and without HIV. To provide adequate care and support for people growing older with HIV, we need to remove the silos separating different types of services. HIV providers need to be able to refer their clients to senior services. At the same time, senior service providers need to know how to refer their clients for HIV-related services. For this to work, it is important that we improve the cultural competence of senior service providers to work with older adults with HIV. This competence involves knowledge of HIV infection; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues; and sexual health. HIV providers will need training to gain competence working with older adults and deepen their understanding of ageing. To address HIV and aging globally, high-income countries will need to invest in low- and middle-income countries so we support healthy aging with HIV around the world. Dr. Mark Brennan-Ing, senior research scientist, developed a policy brief on the global policy implications of the aging of HIV in collaboration with the Aging Studies Institute at Syracuse University.