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Aging & HIV : "A Call to Action - Uncharted Territory
A report into the first generation
growing older with HIV" UK Patient Survey Report
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Download the PDF here
January 2017
A third of survey respondents were socially isolated and
82% experienced moderate to high levels of loneliness.
58% of people living with HIV aged 50+ had moderate to
high levels of HIV self-stigma.
HIV self-stigma also
increased with increasing social isolation and loneliness.
Executive Summary
More than 30 years on from the start of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the UK, the reality of living with HIV is unrecognisable. While stigma and discrimination unfortunately still remain, the availability of effective HIV treatment means that an HIV diagnosis is now no longer the fatal health condition that took the lives of many - far too many - individuals in the prime of their lives.
We are seeing the first wave of individuals who have been on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for a substantial period of time and who are ageing with HIV. We are also seeing a new phenomenon as more people than ever before are diagnosed with HIV aged 50 or over. The result is that the proportion of people living with HIV who are aged 50+ will continue to rise.
This is uncharted territory.
While there are many unanswered questions about the interplay between HIV and ageing, an ever increasing volume of academic and clinical research is starting to determine the physical, mental and social impact of growing older with HIV.
In 2010, Terrence Higgins Trust, Age UK and The Joseph Rowntree Foundation released a groundbreaking piece of research, A National Study of Ageing and HIV (50 Plus), that explored the needs and experiences of over 400 people living with HIV aged 50 and over. Much has changed since then and this research aims to update the evidence based on the findings of 2010. This will provide the call to action needed for the HIV community and other advocates to push for change to ensure the needs of people ageing with HIV are fully met.
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