Touching the whole person: HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment strategies for persons over 50

The rise in the number of older people (>50) living with HIV/AIDS due to older persons becoming infected and Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) living longer because of effective treatments, presents challenges for preventing further infection and effectively managing and treating those diagnosed with the disease. This presentation will identify strategies for effectively interacting with older persons in providing education, screening, diagnosing, counseling, and treatment of older patients with HIV disease. Topics will include risk-avoidance in the context of their age group, working with older PLWHA in the promotion of transmission-reducing behaviors and the challenges of implementing treatment recommendations in an older population to achieve maximum clinical outcomes. Lessons learned from working with this unique, and often overlooked subpopulation of the epidemic will be presented, along with recommendations for incorporating their special needs into program development.