"As I Grew Older, My Life Got Better": Conceptions of Successful Aging among Older Women Living with or at Risk of HIV.

Publisher: Springer Science + Business Media Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9712133 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-3254 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10907165 NLM ISO Abbreviation: AIDS Behav Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2005- : New York, NY : Springer Science + Business Media
Original Publication: New York, NY : Plenum Press, 1997-

HIV Infections*/psychology ; Aging*/psychology ; Focus Groups* ; Qualitative Research* ; Interviews as Topic*; Humans ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Adaptation, Psychological ; Quality of Life ; United States/epidemiology

Successful aging (SA) is an important target for HIV care. However, we have insufficient understanding of how older women living with HIV (OWLH) in the US define SA. We explored conceptions of SA by OWLH and older women at risk of HIV and examined whether SA conceptions differed by (1) HIV serostatus, and (2) participation in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). These analyses were part of a larger mixed-methods study with a sequential design. Participants were recruited at two clinical WIHS sites. We enrolled both WIHS participants and non-WIHS clinic patients. Our sample was 84% Black and included 29 OWLH and 15 older women at risk of HIV. We conducted 21 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups. The dataset was analyzed using descriptive, comparative, and relational analysis. We found four interlinked themes: life course perspective, accepting and celebrating aging, taking care of yourself, and looking good. The life course perspective was a core theme: participants assessed their aging in comparison to their earlier life hardships. These themes were similarly present among OWLH and older women at risk of HIV, although OWLH emphasized taking care of HIV. SA conceptualizations by OWLH did not differ whether or not they participated in the WIHS. Women living with or at risk of HIV may experience severe hardships throughout their lives. Overcoming these hardships may be linked to SA. Assessing the needs and connecting women to resources and programs are critical for SA promotion.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

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U01 HL146241 United States HL NHLBI NIH HHS

Keywords: Aging well; Chronic disease; Healthy aging; Mental health; Older adults; Qualitative study; Well-being

Date Created: 20240117 Date Completed: 20240504 Latest Revision: 20240505

20240505

10.1007/s10461-024-04270-w

38231362