Between living and aging: perceptions of women with HIV.
Evanilza Maria Marcelino, Jaciel Bezerra da Silva, Carla Andreia Alves de Andrade and 4 others
PMID 42524949WHAT IT FOUND
Older women living with HIV described aging with the virus as shaped by stigma and ordinary aging limitations.
Family, professionals, faith groups and women's organizations helped them cope. Beliefs that prevention means only condoms and gender inequalities made prevention and sexuality harder.
Key findings
01Five classes emerged from the women's statements: aging with HIV, meanings of adherence to antiretroviral therapy, conflicts since diagnosis, support networks, and prevention and sexuality challenges.
02The women linked aging with HIV to both stigma and the limitations they associated with getting older.
03Family, professional, religious, educational and women's empowerment support were described as useful, while prevention and sexuality were constrained by the idea that prevention means only condoms and by gender inequality.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study cannot be generalized beyond these 30 women in two services. Only heterosexual women aged 50 or older were included, so it says nothing about men, younger women, or other sexual orientations. Women with cognitive impairment or mental disorders were excluded. The study did not assess actual antiretroviral use or treatment decisions. Text-analysis software can lose meaning, and researcher interpretation can introduce bias.
Declared interests
The authors reported that ChatGPT assisted with grammar, spelling and section reformulation suggestions. They reviewed and edited the content.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that support networks or group discussions improve HIV adherence or aging well. The study reports 30 women's perceptions in two services, and it did not assess antiretroviral use or treatment decisions.