Health-care system not equipped to treat older HIV patients, says Canadian charity – CTV
Nov. 24, 2022
A growing number of older adults are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Canada. But according to a Toronto-based charity, health-care systems currently in place are not prepared to care for the rising number of aging Canadians who are HIV-positive.
Toronto-based HIV/AIDS advocacy charity, Realize, says long-term care homes and health-care facilities across Canada are not equipped to treat older patients with HIV, who are more likely to experience chronic illness.
“They tend to be more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses that they have to manage on top of their HIV,” Kate Murzin, national program manager for Realize, said to CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Wednesday. “They’re experiencing the overlap between HIV and aging now, and it’s causing a lot of complexity in both their health, physical health, but also in terms of other social factors, for example, financial security in older adulthood.”
