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Educating an Older Generation About HIV Prevention
Of the one million Americans infected with HIV, an increasing number are older than 50 and it is not just because they're living longer. The general public does not think of HIV and AIDS in older adults and seniors themselves do not see HIV as a risk.
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29 percent of people living with HIV are older than 50. New AIDS cases rose faster in the over-50 population than in people under 40. Since the early 1980's, HIV in people over 50 has accounted for about 10 percent of all cases.
Nationally, according to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, the Cleveland Department of Public Health and the CDC, in 2005, people 50 and over accounted for:
There may be even more cases that go unreported because doctors do not always test older people for HIV/AIDS during routine medical exams, nor do they talk with their older patients about prevention because, until recently, most doctors didn't think of older adults as a group at risk - seniors weren't thought to be having unprotected sex or using intravenous drugs. Doctors still fail to ask people over 50 whether they are sexually active.
Yet, nearly half of those over age 60 engage in sexual activity at least once a month, according to a survey by the National Council on the Aging. Many older Ohioans are now dating in a very different world than when they first started. They may see contraceptives as exclusively for preventing pregnancy – protection most in this age group don’t need. They fail to recognize the role some contraceptives have in preventing disease and, since they are unaware of the risks they may face, they are even less likely to see themselves at risk for infection.
Sex is the main way that HIV is transmitted. The CDC reports heterosexual transmission is up 94 percent in men over 50 and 107 percent in women over 50 since 1991. Given these numbers, it's essential that older adults be educated about HIV and AIDS prevention. Healthcare professionals need to discuss prevention methods with seniors, which would include discussing older adults' sex lives.
Older Americans with HIV can mistake symptoms of infection - headache, cough, swollen glands, lack of energy, loss of appetite and weight loss, fevers and sweats, skin rashes, cramps, sores and short-term memory loss - for the aches of normal aging, so they don't seek medical attention. When they do consult a doctor, they often are misdiagnosed because most physicians do not routinely screen for HIV in older adults and older people are less likely than younger people to talk about their sex lives or drug use with their doctors.
Because of the growing number of cases among older adults, the American College of Physicians issued new guidelines recently that encourage doctors to screen all patients older than 13 for HIV.
While screening is essential, HIV and AIDS education for older adults will help slow the spread of the disease. Healthcare professionals need to talk to their older consumers about their risk of contracting or spreading HIV/AIDS and tell them what they can be doing to protect themselves. The Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging and the Cuyahoga County Department of Senior and Adult Services have developed an educational program called "Is It HIV or Is It Aging? Identifying Risk Factors For HIV and AIDS in Older Adults." For more information about the program, contact Susan Schwarzwald at sschwarzwald@psa10a.org or call 216-621-8010 X 1109.
HIV/AIDS is not a young person's illness. It is an illness that strikes every age. There is no cure, but improved drugs help keep the virus in check, helping people who have the disease live longer and healthier lives.