Training senior service providers about HIV and aging: Evaluation of a multiyear, multicity initiative

ABSTRACT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in 2015, one half of all people living with HIV in the United States will be older than age 50. Older adults remain sexually active, and 16% of all new HIV diagnoses occur in adults age 50 and older. However, older adults rarely see themselves at risk for HIV/AIDS, and physicians are frequently reluctant to discuss sex. To address the issue of aging and HIV, ACRIA created its National Older Adults with HIV (NOAH) technical assistance and capacity-building program. NOAH targets aging and HIV providers that serve older adults at risk for or living with HIV. Program goals include increasing knowledge, reducing stigma, and creating partnerships between senior service providers (SSPs) and HIV service providers. In its first 4 years, NOAH training was provided to 150 organizations in eight cities across the United States, reaching 332 agency staff. Outcome evaluation found significant increases in knowledge about HIV and aging, and programmatic impact with regard to integration of older adults and HIV information in participating agencies’ activities. Ongoing issues included recruiting SSPs and difficulties in reaching agencies that participated for short- and long-term follow-up. Implications for workforce development are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV/AIDS
• older adults
• program evaluation
• senior service providers

Acknowledgments

ACRIA and the authors would like to thank the M·A·C AIDS Fund for their generous support of the NOAH program. The authors would also like to thank ACRIA’s HIV Health Literacy and NOAH staff member Hanna Tessema and our former intern Brendan O’Connell for assistance in the evaluation of this project and preparation of this manuscript.