Red Ribbon, Silver Threads: Healthy Aging in the Era of HIV/AIDS

Workshop Descriptions & Presentations

HIV Disease and Co-Morbidities in Older Adults

HIV in relation to chronic diseases of aging; HIV disease progression, adherence, treatment responses, clinical trials and data, late diagnosis, and clinical differences between the newly infected and chronic HIV infected and between younger seniors and the very old.

Healthy Aging with HIV: Clinical and Individual Perspectives

Engagement and retention in care; prevention of hospital and nursing home admissions, including medical self-management, education about personal healthy aging strategies, and the development of effective provider-patient relationships.

Designing a Model of HIV Care and Service for Older Adults

Review of existing models of care for HIV and other chronic diseases; creation of a comprehensive model of care for older people with HIV, including consideration of the changing roles of HIV specialists, gerontologists and primary care providers; infrastructure and integrated/coordinated services; continuum of care; supportive services in the context of an aging society, including legal, housing, transportation, faith communities, mental health, drug treatment, and others.

Factors that Increase or Decrease HIV Risk

Risks of primary and secondary infection and undisclosed infection, including stigma, ageism, isolation, poverty, gender, sexual orientation, access to care, behavior, assumptions about sexuality, culture and community norms, immigration status, mental health, and drug use, in general and in relation to specific populations.

Sexuality and Sexual Health in an Aging Population

Sexuality, gender, sexual orientation; male and female sexual health, including pressures and expectations, changes with age, age-related sexual function, and medications; changing sexual perspectives related to divorce, loss, generational values; inhibitions related to physical limitations, life circumstances, or desire; behavior and expression; sexual assumptions and knowledge; the difficulties of disclosure and of patient-provider conversations about sex.

Funding Programs/Paying the Bills

Implications of health care reform, federal and state insurance considerations, program structure and reimbursement, research directions and funding.

Educating the Workforce, the Community and the Individual

Educating an appropriate workforce; educating providers, communities, and individuals to implement strategies for healthy aging in the era of HIV/AIDS.