Australia: Aged Care "Not Ready" for HIV Patients

A national aging services conference in Australia last week was told that life-prolonging, long-term AIDS treatments are accelerating age-related illnesses and thereby placing new demands on the aged care sector.

Queensland coordinator of St. Luke's Nursing Service HIV/AIDS unit, Nigel Aberdour, said antiviral therapies are prompting the early onset of osteoporosis, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes. He is afraid, he said, that the longer-living HIV patients likely to suffer these side effects will catch a largely unprepared aged care system off guard. He estimates there are about 1,650 HIV/AIDS patients over age 50 in Australia.

"As mortality and morbidity rates continue to decline, and the numbers of people with HIV and AIDS increases, it is a reasonable expectation that demands on aged care services will become more prevalent," Aberdour said. Other challenges undoubtedly will occur in terms of knowledge, attitude and approaches to HIV/AIDS patients, according to Gary Rogers, University of Adelaide Health in Human Diversity Unit director.

Patients concurred that moves need to be made immediately to educate the health care sector on the different care requirements of HIV patients in old age, not only to provide better care but also to break down prejudices based on ignorance. "I think the aged care sector is prejudiced against older people having the virus; they consider that it's dirty," said an aged care facility resident from Brisbane who has kept his illness a secret for fear of prejudice.

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