Living with uncertainty - older people and HIV

Thanks to developments in medicine, people living with HIV in the UK are now living longer into older age. But older people with HIV are substantially more disadvantaged than their peers – both financially and health-wise.

'50 Plus', a new report by the JRF, Terrence Higgins Trust and Age UK, shows that, like many people in this age group, people living with HIV face anxieties about long-term health care and financial security.

This group reports twice as many other long-term health problems as their peers – such as high blood pressure, kidney and liver problems and arthritis. They also have increased financial worries as they are less likely to be in work and less likely to have prepared for retirement. One research participant said "Since I was diagnosed in 1985 I regarded this as a death warrant and ceased to make any pension provisions."

Older people with HIV also still have fears about receiving adequate social and health care, with many reporting negative experiences in primary care especially regarding discrimination, ignorance and low standard of clinical treatment. Some people also fear there may be ignorance and prejudice within the care homes or sheltered housing they may later come to rely on.

Following this research, all three charities are calling for improvements in healthcare; better employment support and financial advice; addressing homophobia, HIV discrimination and ageism in services; more opportunities for social contact to prevent isolation; and greater cooperation and information sharing between organisations and services for older people.

'50 Plus' is being launched at AIDS 2010, the 18th International AIDS Conference, in Vienna, 18-23 July.