Woman to Woman (W2W): Adapting an HIV risk reduction intervention for older women

Evaluating HIV Educational Materials for Older People

OBJECTIVE

To address the gap in knowledge about HIV risk reduction materials that target older adults. This review offered a comprehensive and rigorous examination of HIV risk reduction education materials that targeted older adults in the United States, assessing the gap in their coverage and content.

METHOD

A cross-sectional review of both print and Internet sources from state departments of public health, state and area agencies on aging, and web resources that targeted older populations was performed.

RESULTS

Of 29 health departments and 13 state and area agencies on aging that responded to the request, there were 9 HIV education materials identified that targeted older people. Of those materials, only 2 addressed the majority of aging-specific recommendations made from a previous study that described important HIV risk reduction information.

DISCUSSION

Recommendations are made about dissemination ideas to increase awareness and utilization of HIV educational materials.

“I Don’t Know and I Don’t Want to Know”: A Qualitative Examination of Older African American Women’s Knowledge and Experiences With HIV

While older African American women (e.g., aged 50 years and older) comprise only 11% of the female population in the United States, they account for 50% of HIV diagnoses among women in this age group. Unique sociocultural factors, including a lack of HIV knowledge and stigma, contribute to HIV risk among older African American women. The goal of this qualitative study was to obtain a nuanced perspective from older African American women about HIV knowledge and experiences with HIV using the framework of intersectionality theory. Focus groups were conducted with 35 African American women who were 50 years and older, nonpartnered, and heterosexual. Women were asked what they knew about HIV and if they thought older women were at risk for HIV. A thematic analysis using NVivo 11 yielded two central themes and three subthemes: HIV knowledge, including experiential knowledge, superficial knowledge, and no knowledge, and stigma around HIV in the Black church. Implications for developing HIV prevention programs and testing messages are discussed.