@unpublished{pittir36626,
           month = {June},
           title = {Aging with HIV: Allegheny County?s assisted living facilities preparedness for HIV-positive older adults},
          author = {Rachel Schaffer},
            year = {2019},
        keywords = {Nursing Homes},
             url = {http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/36626/},
        abstract = {HIV is no longer a death sentence, but a chronic illness that can be maintained over decades. An HIV-positive individual can live into his or her 60?s and 70?s. Currently, over 50\% of people living with HIV (PLWH) are over the age of 50. As a result, there will be an imminent influx of HIV-positive individuals entering long-term care facilities that are not prepared to care for their unique needs. Aging with HIV is linked with co-morbidities such as multiple chronic conditions and concurrent viral infections, substance abuse, mental health concerns, and polypharmacology. This qualitative study reached out to 57 long-term care facilities in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, to assess their level of readiness in appropriately caring for HIV-positive older adults. No respondent (n=9) felt that training their staff in caring for PLWH was extremely important, though many wished that their staff did know best practices in the HIV field. Furthermore, long-term care facilities in the county are not very familiar with local HIV training, healthcare, and referral organizations. Overall, more research needs to be conducted to conclude if long-term care facilities in Allegheny County are adequately prepared to care the imminent influx of HIV-positive residents. It is of great public health importance that long-term care facilities be prepared to care for HIV-positive older adults.}
}