In some ways, the daily lives of aging and older people living with HIV are similar to the lives of other older adults. There is a need to manage concurrent health conditions, cope with isolation and loneliness, and take stock of who will provide support if independence wanes.
But normal aging-related issues can be more complex for people living with HIV. It is common for HIV-positive people to live with a greater number of physical, mental, or cognitive comorbidities across the lifespan, as compared to their HIV-negative counterparts. Financial insecurity resulting from poor financial advice, precarious engagement in work, and HIV-related stigma, can limit access to housing, food and support and increase isolation. Uncertainty regarding health changes, the long-term impacts of treatment, and the process of navigating services and supports for ‘seniors’ abounds.
Realize is committed to ensuring that aging and older people living with HIV are supported. Some of our activities include:
- Educating health care and service providers about the needs and experiences of aging and older people living with HIV
- Sharing up-to-date research findings on topics related to HIV, aging and older adulthood
- Taking action to address health inequities faced by aging and older people living with HIV
Aging with HIV Resources
Situating the Preferences And Needs for Aging Care among HIV-positive Elderly people in Ontario within the UN Principles for Older Persons
PANACHE: Principles and Practicalities; Project Report, Realize August 2021
Preferences And Needs for Aging Care among HIV-positive Elderly people in Ontario (“PANACHE ON”) is a qualitative community-based participatory research (CBPR) study that conducted community consultations with people aging with HIV at nine community-based organizations in Ontario, Canada to ascertain their preferences and needs for aging care.
The Pan-Canadian Research Agenda on HIV, Aging & Older Adulthood
The Pan-Canadian Research Agenda on HIV, Aging and Older Adulthood is a tool created by the National Coordinating Committee on HIV and Aging to guide decision-making by four interested parties:
1) Research Funders and Grant Review Committees
2) Principal Investigators and Research Team Members
3) Policy Makers and Policy Change Advocates
4) Institutions, Residential Care Settings and Community-Based Organizations
The recommendations are relevant to stakeholders engaged in most types of HIV- and aging-related
research and evidence production, including epidemiological studies, community-based research
projects, biomedical and clinical trials, implementation science initiatives and program evaluation.
There are two notable exceptions. The NCC does not have the expertise to make recommendations
regarding priorities for basic science research and drug development.
We Live and Learn Together: The Social Benefits of an Online Symposium on HIV and Aging Well
This virtual presentation, made as a poster to the Canadian Association for HIV Research annual conference in 2022, outlines the social benefits to older adults living with HIV on HIV and aging well.