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South Africa has the largest share of people living with HIV in the world and this population is ageing. The social context in which people seek HIV care is often ignored. Apart from clinical interventions, socio-behavioural factors impact successful HIV care outcomes for older adults living with HIV. We use cross-sectional data linked with demographic household surveillance data, consisting of HIV positive adults aged above 40, to identify socio-behavioural predictors of a detectable viral load. Older adults were more likely to have a detectable viral load if they did not disclose their HIV positive status to close family members (aOR 2.56, 95% CI 1.89-3.46), resided in the poorest households (aOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.23-3.18), or were not taking medications other than ART (aOR 1.83, 95% CI 1.02-1.99) likely to have a detectable. Clinical interventions in HIV care must be supported by understanding the socio-behavioural barriers that occur outside the health facility. The importance of community health care workers in bridging this gap may offer more optimum outcomes for older adults ageing with HIV.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/s10461-024-04328-9

Type

Journal

AIDS and behavior

Publication Date

07/2024

Volume

28

Pages

2307 - 2313

Addresses

Centre of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. chido.chinogurei@uct.ac.za.

Keywords

Humans, HIV Infections, Anti-HIV Agents, Viral Load, Cross-Sectional Studies, Socioeconomic Factors, Adult, Aged, Middle Aged, Rural Population, Health Services Accessibility, South Africa, Female, Male, Medication Adherence