Website launched for treatment of older HIV patients

The American Academy of HIV Medicine, the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America and the American Geriatrics Society announced the launch of a website to guide clinicians who are managing the care of older HIV patients.

“HIV-Age.org is the natural next step in the mission to provide HIV care providers with the information, tools and resources needed to best manage the health of their older HIV patients,” James M. Friedman, executive director of the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), said in a press release. “This website will be a virtual environment of clinical information and colleague support.”

According to the CDC, individuals aged 55 years and older accounted for 19% of the estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States in 2010. Older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to be diagnosed later in the course of their disease. They also may be at greater risk for common age-related illnesses compared with older adults without HIV.

According to AAHIVM, the website is an extension of the HIV and Aging Consensus Project, developed in 2011 to provide clinical treatment strategies for older patients with HIV. The new site will house the 2011 Recommended Treatment Strategies for Clinicians Managing Older Patients with HIV report, which will be revised periodically with clinical updates. The site will also feature editorials from leading experts, a listing of published research on HIV and aging from the last two years, case studies and links to government and medical resources.

“This type of content will encourage discussion among the HIV community, including medical providers seeking strategies for tackling some of the more complicated treatment scenarios,” Dan Tietz, RD, JD, executive director of the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America, said in the release.