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Health providers must adapt to aging HIV patients
In Los Angeles County, the median age of people with HIV is 48, according to the county Department of Public Health. About one in eight of them is older than 60.
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Health providers must adapt to aging HIV patients
On the 26th World AIDS Day commemoration, there are much more effective drugs on the market, and people are living much longer with the disease. That's cause for celebration, and it also means health care providers need to adapt to the reality of treating an older population with HIV.
In Los Angeles County, the median age of people with HIV is 48, according to the county Department of Public Health. About one in eight of them is older than 60.
Primary care doctors – not just AIDS specialists - should be aware of the needs of this aging population, says Jeff Bailey, director of client services at AIDS Project Los Angeles, where the majority of clients are over 50.
That's especially true as these patients develop other age-related, chronic conditions - like heart disease and cancer - that "may not be specific to HIV, but obviously because of their compromised immune system, may progress a little bit quicker," Bailey says.
The same goes for nursing facilities and hospices, he adds.
There used to be facilities designated for people sick with HIV, but these days general nursing facilities and hospices must "have some competency around working with people with HIV, and - particularly because in L.A. most of them are gay men - that have some sensitivity around those issues, too," says Bailey.
As more people are living longer with HIV, Bailey says AIDS Project Los Angeles is focusing on getting people diagnosed with HIV into care, and providing support to keep them there.
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