'Too old to test?': A life course approach to HIV-related risk and self-testing among midlife-older adults in Malawi.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite the aging HIV epidemic, increasing age can be associated with hesitancy to test. Addressing this gap is a critical policy concern and highlights the urgent need to identify the underlying factors, to improve knowledge of HIV-related risks as well as uptake of HIV testing and prevention services, in midlife-older adults.

Methods

We conducted five focus group discussions and 12 in-depth interviews between April 2013 and November 2016 among rural and urban Malawian midlife-older (≥30 years) men and women. Using a life-course theoretical framework we explored how age is enacted socially and its implications on HIV testing and sexual risk behaviours. We also explore the potential for HIV self-testing (HIVST) to be part of a broader strategy for engaging midlife

SUBMITTER: Johnson C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8019342 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature