The Social Support of Older Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: A Systematic Literature Review
Open Access
- Author:
- Cortese, Alexandra
- Area of Honors:
- Nursing
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Susan Jayne Loeb, Thesis Supervisor
Susan Jayne Loeb, Thesis Supervisor
Donna Marie Fick, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- HIV/AIDS
social support
older adults - Abstract:
- The population of older adults living with HIV/AIDS in the United States is growing due to the aging of the general population, the development of anti-retroviral drug therapies, and the rising number of new infections among older adults. Despite the fact that due to advancing treatments people are living longer with HIV/AIDS, it still remains a complex, life-threatening, and costly disease. Not only does aging with HIV/AIDS have a serious negative impact on the physical health and functioning of older adults, but it also impacts their psychosocial health. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic literature review on the social support resources used by adults age 65 and older living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. The specific aims of this review were to describe the social support resources available to this population, the social support systems actually used by the population, and the barriers they face to social support. The outcomes associated with the use of social support were also presented. The broad goal was to identify nursing practice and healthcare policy implications as well as gaps in the research. The search for literature was conducted using the online databases PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO with the key terms HIV and “social support.” Selection criteria for inclusion of articles were that they must have been written in English, focused on the population aged 65 and older, and reported research that was conducted in the United States. A total of 18 articles were included in the review. Seven themes relating to the social support of older adults living with HIV/AIDS emerged from the research. The most compelling finding was the level of social isolation and depression experienced by this particular population.