169782 HIV risk behaviors among older impoverished women living in Puerto Rico

Monday, October 27, 2008: 10:30 AM

Lisa Norman, PhD , Public Health Department/AIDS Research Program, Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, PR
Robert Malow, PhD , AIDS Prevention Program, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Sana Loue, JD, PhD, MPH , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Silkha Abreu, MPH , Epidemiology and Biostatistics Core, Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, PR
Erika Candelaria, MSW, PsyD (c) , Clinical Psycology Department, Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, PR
  
Background: Increasingly, older adults are impacted by HIV. The HIV epidemic currently affecting a growing percentage of the older population has been referred to as "the overlooked epidemic."

Methods: This study examines the relationship between age and HIV-related risk behaviors among 1138 women living in public housing in Puerto Rico, who were surveyed between April and August 2006, using a self-administered survey instrument.

Results: Bivariate results showed that older women (aged 50+ years) were significantly less likely to use condoms with their most recent sex partner, to report HIV testing, and to discuss safer sex with their most recent steady sex partner. They were also more likely to express anxiety associated with condoms and more barriers to using condoms. Logistic regression analyses confirmed these bivariate findings.

Conclusions: Age-specific messages concerning their increased risk of HIV among other interventions would likely curtail the increase in the new of new AIDS cases being reported among older women.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the HIV-risk factor for older women (aged 50 and older) living in public housing in Puerto Rico 2. Describe future research areas that need to be addressed regarding intervening with this population.

Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was the PI for the project which funded the research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Minority Health in Older Adults
See more of: Gerontological Health