Necessary Actions

Necessary Actions

• Specific programs must be implemented for older adults, especially women, who need to be informed about the transmission and prevention of HIV.
• Outreach should include workshops and trainings devoted to basic HIV/AIDS information, "safe" sexual and drug-using practices, testing, negotiation skills -- all in relationship to aging.
• More research is needed to study seniors’ sexual and drug-using behaviors and to determine HIV disease progression and treatments in the over-50 population.
• Health care and service providers on all levels should be educated on HIV risk behaviors and symptoms of HIV infection; they need to conduct thorough sex and drug-use risk assessments with their older clients/patients.
• Programs aimed at reaching health care and service providers should cover misdiagnoses, testing technologies, treatments, support groups, case management and the importance of being actively involved in the health and well-being of their older clients/patients.
• Successful media and social marketing campaigns can raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in older people and reinforce the need for educational programs, while promoting respect and validation for the elderly as a group.