title: Life begins at 60: Identifying the social support needs of African American women aging with HIV.
abstract: HIV chronicity has resulted in increased life expectancy for many African American women who acquired the disease during the epidemic's peak years. As these women live longer and age, their social support needs may increase. Five focus groups were conducted in Washington, DC with 23 HIV-positive African American women aged 52-65 to explore women's perceptions about how aging and HIV chronicity affects their social support needs. Participants were recruited from the longitudinal Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) participant pool. A constant comparison approach was applied during data analysis. Participants reported needing increased social support, especially emotional support from health care providers, family, and HIV-positive peers. The importance of providers and HIV-positive peers was discussed most frequently relative to meeting these needs. Health care providers in particular may need to increase their provision of emotional support when devising treatment plans to meet the social support needs of older HIV-positive African American women.
authors.forename: Lari
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Warren-Jeanpiere
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dillaway
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Lakshmi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goparaju
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D057545:Social Stigma; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents