New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Older adults are increasingly acquiring HIV, but are underrepresented in prevention and treatment campaigns, which is more focused on youth, according to a study.
The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, showed that the prevalence of HIV in older adults is exceeding that of younger adults. However, prevention and treatment campaigns are not adequately targeting the particular needs of the 50+ year age group, said researchers from Wits University in South Africa who investigated HIV in older people in Kenya and South Africa.
“We often think of HIV as a disease of younger people. It doesn’t help that intervention campaigns are mainly targeted at the youth,” said Dr. Luicer Olubayo, a researcher at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at Wits.
Moreover, the study showed that older adults are less likely to believe that they can get HIV.
This misconception is pervasive and has consequences for reaching global targets to achieve UNAIDS’ 95-95-95 targets by 2030 (95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of people who know their status are on treatment, and 95 per cent have a suppressed viral load).
“While HIV prevalence among individuals over 50 years of age is similar to or even exceeds that of younger adults, HIV surveys focus on younger individuals, leaving considerable gaps in understanding HIV prevalence, incidence, and treatment outcomes in older populations,” said F. Xavier Gomez-Olive, Associate Professor at the MRC/Wits-Agincourt Research Unit.
Further, the uptake of HIV testing among older adults is poor, which delays diagnosis and limits access to care.
This is, indeed, one of the signifiers of the pervasiveness of the stigma surrounding the disease, said the team stressing the need to boost interventions to support older people’s mental health and overall well-being.
Interventions could focus on repeated testing, the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and campaigns to increase awareness and reduce infections among the elderly.
–IANS
rvt/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
