Hazel Ridgers

Caring for older HIV-positive men who have sex with men

The availability of antiretroviral therapy has changed the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression, and as a result the face of HIV in the UK is ageing. Men who have sex with men remain disproportionately affected. Those who have lived into older age with HIV, as well as those older men that are newly diagnosed with the virus, are at risk of a range of non acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related co-morbidities, resulting in the need for care not only in HIV specialist settings but also in other areas of healthcare provision. This article examines some of the issues that nurses caring for people ageing with HIV in non-HIV healthcare settings may encounter. Particular attention is paid to issues that affect older HIV-positive men who have sex with men.