It’s not just HIV anymore - A qualitative exploration of health, research, community and mental health priorities of long-term survivors of HIV in the United States

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man

Long-term survivors (LTS) of HIV were examined to understand priorities related to health, aging, safer antiretroviral therapy, community, mental health, and research engagement in the United States. Qualitative interviews were conducted in 2023–2024 with 32 participants aged 60+, revealing needs for integrated care that addresses comorbidities, cognitive change, and mental health concerns such as survivor guilt, depression, and anxiety. Housing, food security, and financial stability shaped access and outcomes, supporting person-centered models combining geriatric expertise, mental health services, and social supports.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Keywords

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript | | HHS Public Access
Author manuscript
AIDS Care. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2026 January 06. | | --- | --- | Published in final edited form as: AIDS Care. 2026 March ; 38(3): 506–520. doi:10.1080/09540121.2025.2584603 . “It’s not just HIV anymore”: A qualitative exploration of health, research, community and mental health priorities of long-term survivors of HIV in the United States Ali Ahmeda, Jeff Taylorb,c, Joyce Ching-Jung Laia, Rachel Laua, Sithara Deshan Diunugalaa, Michael Louellac,d,e, Brandon Brownf, Annie L. Nguyeng, Maile Karrisa, Lynda Deee, h, Jeff Berryi,j, Karine Dubéa a Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA, USA b HIV + Aging Research Project: Palm Springs (HARP-PS), Palm Springs, CA, USAc Reversing Immune Dysfunction for HIV-1 (RID-HIV) Eradication, Martin Delaney Collaboratory Community Engagement Coordination and Community Advisory Board, San Diego, CA, USA d University of Washington Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Seattle, WA, USA e Delaney AIDS Research Enterprise (DARE), Martin Delaney Collaboratory Community Advisory Board and Community Engagement Coordination, San Francisco, CA, USA fDepartment of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health, University of California Riverside (UCR), Riverside, CA, USA g Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA, USA hAIDS Action Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA iCRISPR for Cure Martin Delaney Collaboratory Community Advisory Board, Philadelphia, PA, USA Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?)[ ](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?)[journalCode=caic20](journalCode=caic20This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-)[This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-](journalCode=caic20This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-)NoDerivatives License ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. CONTACT Ali Ahmed aliahmed@health.ucsd.edu Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA, USA; Karine Dubé [kdube@health.ucsd.edu](kdube@health.ucsd.edu) Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA, USA. Authors contributions K.D., J.T., and L.D. were involved in conception and design; K.D. and J.T. were involved in the collection of data; J.C.J.L., R.L., and S.D. reviewed each transcript for accuracy and completeness and compared them with the corresponding audio files. A.A. and K.D. were involved in the analysis and interpretation of the data and A.A. drafted the paper. All co-authors reviewed it for intellectual contents, approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s) . Use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT, an AI language model, was used for wordsmithing and editing during the preparation of this manuscript. The AI tool

FAQs

Who were considered long-term survivors of HIV in this study?

Long-term survivors were people diagnosed before the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy in 1996 or those living with HIV for more than ten years.

What method and sample size were used to explore participants’ priorities?

Qualitative interviews were conducted in 2023–2024 with 32 long-term survivors aged 60 and above, recruited through community partners.

What major priorities and social determinants did participants emphasize?

Participants prioritized integrated care for age-related comorbidities and mental health needs, and highlighted survivor guilt, depression, and anxiety. Housing, food security, and financial stability were key social determinants shaping access and outcomes.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Mary Man