Creating Broad Social Messaging On HIV/STI/Hepatitis Prevention for People Over 50

Background:  In over 30 years since the first AIDS case was reported, there have been many programs, interventions, and social messaging campaigns that target high-risk groups. The needs of older adults, however, have received little attention. Young adults receive some HIV education in schools, but HIV wasn’t an issue when many of our older adults were in school. Low testing rates among people over 50 prevent using these services as an effective point of contact for HIV counseling and testing. The stigma associated with high-risk behavior and a general reluctance to talk about risk factors hinder attempts to reach older adults about HIV/STI/hepatitis prevention.

Program background: With NYC Council and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene funding, ACRIA leads a group of agencies conducting a series of programs. Among them is a social messaging and marketing campaign that educates and informs service providers placed on a website (Ageisnotacondom.org), facebook and public bus shelters throughout the city. targeting, the general older adults population, older adults living with HIV, and older adults at risk for HIV.  Topics include Stigma and Ageism; HIV, Myths and Older Adults; HIV Testing; STI Screening, HIV/STI/hepatitis Prevention; etc.

Evaluation Methods and Results: With NYC Council and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene funding, ACRIA leads a group of agencies conducting a series of programs. Among them is a social messaging and marketing campaign that educates and informs service providers placed on a website (Ageisnotacondom.org), facebook and public bus shelters throughout the city. targeting, the general older adults population, older adults living with HIV, and older adults at risk for HIV.  Topics include Stigma and Ageism; HIV, Myths and Older Adults; HIV Testing; STI Screening, HIV/STI/hepatitis Prevention; etc. ACRIA and its partners have developed materials, including palm cards, posters, DVDs, public service announcements in several languages (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Haitian Creole), that are made available at training sessions and organizations throughout NYC and nationally. The program has distributed over 100,000 DVDs and discussion manuals in English and Spanish, over 100,000 palm cards, and over 100,000 posters. A public social messaging campaign is made visible annually broadly through public bus shelters, a website and facebook. 

Conclusions: 

• The need to educate service providers about HIV/STI stigma, ageism, HIV/STI awareness, sexual behavior and risk behaviors, and HIV prevention and testing.
• The lack of information/wealth of misinformation about HIV (prevention, care, and treatment) related to seniors.
• The disconnect and lack of overlap between senior service providers and HIV service providers 

Implications for research and/or practice: 

• Cross-disciplinary training of health care and social services providers on HIV education and prevention services for older adults.
• Normalizing HIV information and services and making them readily available to all older adults, regardless of their HIV status, as the first step toward focused primary and secondary HIV prevention and expansion of services to older HIV-positive adults.