Knowledge of Modes of Transmission of HIV, Self-efficacy and HIV/AIDS Risk Among Older Adults

The New York State Department of Health (2012) reported that HIV/AIDS has transitioned from being considered a young person’s disease to an older person’s disease.  The CDC reported that the elderly population is a special challenge when it comes to implementing prevention measures. Older adults are less likely than younger age groups to get tested for HIV, not perceiving themselves at risk, and are less likely to communicate with partners about HIV/AIDS. The HIV Prevention Knowledge test, Sexual Health Practices Self-Efficacy Scale, and the AIDS Health Belief Scale were mailed to a randomly selected sample of approximately 1800 older adults residing in upstate NY. Most (72.2%) of the participants reported being married and living with a partner. The participants were able to correctly answer only 73% of the questions on the HIV Prevention knowledge test, indicating a moderate level of knowledge regarding HIV prevention, their perception of HIV risk was assessed at a moderate level (m=14.6, SD =3.5), a statistically significant difference between males and females for self-efficacy regarding practicing safe sex was observed  (t=2.19, p=.03) and  91.5% reported that they had never discussed HIV/AIDS with their doctor and 94% had never spoken to their partners about HIV/AIDS. It is imperative that older adults reacquaint themselves with knowledge about HIV. The broad goal of the study was to identify gaps in knowledge and skills among seniors related to HIV/AIDS knowledge and communication. Clearly there is a need for creating targeted HIV/AIDS prevention education programs for older adults in upstate NY.