Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T09:22:57.546Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Got a room for me?’ Housing Experiences of Older Adults Living with HIV/AIDS in Ottawa*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2012

Charles Furlotte ,
Karen Schwartz ,
Jay J. Koornstra  and
Richard Naster
Charles Furlotte*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, McMaster University
Karen Schwartz
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Carleton University
Jay J. Koornstra
Affiliation:
Bruce House, Ottawa
Richard Naster
Affiliation:
Bruce House, Ottawa
*
†Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Charles Furlotte, RSW, MSW School of Social Work Kenneth Taylor Hall (KTH), Room 319 McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8S 4M4 (furlotcr@mcmaster.ca)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

HIV/AIDS and aging is an important emerging topic with relevance to gerontology. Currently, little is known about the housing experiences of older adults within the context of HIV/AIDS. This article explores the issue and examines interview data concerning the housing experiences of 11 older adults (52 to 67 years old) living with HIV/AIDS in Ottawa, Ontario. Participants’ stories revealed concerns relating to three major themes: acceptance into retirement homes and long-term care communities, barriers to accessing subsidized housing services, and homelessness. Participants reported feeling that they lacked recognition and experienced confusion about their future housing prospects. These data suggest that a shift may be occurring in the housing needs of people aging with HIV/AIDS. This emerging population presents challenges to mainstream ideas of aging. We conclude that increased attention is needed in research, policy, and practice to address housing issues among this age group of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Résumé

Le VIH/SIDA et le vieillissement constitue un thème émergent important et pertinent pour la gérontologie. Les expériences des personnes âgées vivant avec le VIH relatives au logement sont encore très peu connues. Le présent article explore cette problématique en examinant les données issues d’entrevues portant sur les expériences relatives au logement de 11 adultes âgés (de 52 à 67 ans) vivant avec le VIH/SIDA à Ottawa (Ontario). Les histoires des participants ont révélé des préoccupations relatives aux trois thèmes principaux: l’acceptation dans les maisons de retraite ou dans les centres d’hébergements de soin de longue durée, le manque d’accès aux logements subventionnés et l’itinérance. Les participants rapportaient ressentir un manque de reconnaissance et de la confusion concernant leurs perspectives d’habitation. Ces résultats suggèrent qu’un changement se produit peutêtre dans les besoins de logement de personnes qui vieillissent avec le VIH. Cette population émergente apporte des défis aux idées dominantes sur le vieillissement. Nous concluons qu’une attention accrue est nécessaire au niveau de la recherche, des politiques et de la pratique pour aborder le problème du logement chez ce groupe d’âge de personnes vivant avec le VIH.

Keywords

vieillissementSIDA/VIHlogementsoins de longue duréel’itinéranceagingHIV/AIDShousinglong-term carehomelessness
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 37 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The authors thank the research participants who gave of their time. Thank you to Khaled Salam, Susan McWilliam, and Dr. Isabelle Wallach for their contributions, feedback, and support in the development of this article.

This first author of this manuscript received a $1,000 community-based research honorarium jointly from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network and Ontario AIDS Network.

References

Adler, W.H., Baskar, P.V., Chrest, F.J., Dorsey-Cooper, B., Winchurch, R.A., & Nagel, J.E. (1997). HIV infection and aging: Mechanisms to explain the accelerated rate of progression in the older patient. Mechanics of Aging and Development, 96, 137–155.Google Scholar
Aidala, A.A., & Quattrochi, R. (2007). Housing is prevention and care: Using research to change the HIV risk paradigm. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, NY. Retrieved June 4, 2010, fromhttp://www.allacademic.com/meta/p184780_index.html.Google Scholar
Alliance to End Homelessness. (2011). Report card on ending homelessness in Ottawa, January–December 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2011, fromhttp://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/homelessness/documents/ReportCardEndingHomelessnessOttawaJan-Dec2010.pdf.Google Scholar
Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration. (2008). Life expectancy of individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy in high-income countries: A collaborative analysis of 14 cohort studies. The Lancet, 372, 293–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brotman, S., Ryan, B., & Cormier, R. (2003). The health and social service needs of gay and lesbian elders and their families in Canada. The Gerontologist, 43(2), 192–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bryant, T. (2004). Housing and health. In Raphael, D. (Ed.), Social determinants of health: A Canadian perspective (pp. 217–232). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Scholar’s Press.Google Scholar
Buchanan, D.R., Kee, R., Sadowski, L.S., & Garcia, D. (2009). The health impact of supportive housing for HIV-positive homeless patients: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Public Health, 99(Suppl. 3), S675–S680.Google Scholar
Canadian AIDS Society. (2009). “Bring Me Home” The Canadian AIDS Society’s Position on Housing and HIV/AIDS Background Document. Retrieved April 8, 2010 from, http://www.cdnaids.ca/web/position.nsf/pages/cas-pp-0303.Google Scholar
Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. (2007). Supportive housing for homeless and hard to house seniors: An in-depth case study. Socio-economic series 07–017, September 2007.Google Scholar
Deeks, S.G., & Phillips, A.N. (2009). HIV infection, antiretroviral treatment, aging, and non-AIDS related morbidity. British Medical Journal, 338, 288–292.Google Scholar
Effros, R.B., Fletcher, C.V., Gebo, K., Halter, J.B., Hazzard, W.R., McFarland Horne, F., et al. . (2008). Workshop on HIV infection and aging: What is known and future research directions. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 15:47(4), 542–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eldred, S. & West, L. (2005). HIV prevalence in older adults. Canadian Nurse, 101(9), 20–23.Google ScholarPubMed
Emlet, C.A. (2006). “You’re awfully old to have this disease”: Experiences of stigma and ageism in adults 50 years and older living with HIV/AIDS. The Gerontologist, 46(8), 781–790.Google Scholar
Emlet, C.A., & Poindexter, C.C. (2004). Unserved, unseen, and unheard: Integrating programs for HIV-infected and HIV-affected older adults. Health & Social Work, 29(2), 86–96.Google Scholar
Erlandson, D.A., Harris, E.L., Skipper, B.L., & Allen, S.D. (1993). Doing naturalistic inquiry: A guide to methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Fox-Hill, E.J., Gibson, D.V., & Eagle, V.F. (2004). Nursing home experiences of African American older adults with HIV/AIDS: Issues for future research. In Emlet, C.A. (Ed.), HIV and older adults: Challenges for individuals, families and communities (pp.111–129). New York: Springer Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Friedan, B. (1993). The fountain of age. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google ScholarPubMed
Freire, P. (2007). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum Publishing.Google Scholar
Fritsch, T. (2005). HIV/AIDS and the older adult: An exploratory study of the age-related differences in access to medical and social services. The Journal of Applied Gerontology, 24(1), 35–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furlotte, C. (2009). The health and social service experiences of eleven older adults living with HIV/AIDS in the national capital region. Unpublished thesis, Carleton University.Google Scholar
Galabuzi, G. (2004). Social exclusion. In Raphael, D. (Ed.), Social determinants of health: Canadian perspectives (pp. 235–251). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Scholar’s Press.Google Scholar
Genke, J. (2000). HIV/AIDS and older adults: The invisible ten percent. Care Management Journals, 2(3), 196–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hambly, K. (2010). “Fife House Supportive Housing Model.” Paper presented at the Partners in Aging National Forum: Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, March 4, 2010.Google Scholar
Heckman, T.G., Kochman, A.K., & Sikkema, K.J. (2002). Depressive symptoms in older adults living with HIV disease: Application of the chronic illness quality of life model. Journal of Mental Health and Aging, 8(4), 267–279.Google Scholar
Herek, T.G. (1999). AIDS and stigma. American Behavioral Scientist, 42(7), 1102–1112.Google Scholar
Justice, A.C. (2010). HIV and aging: Time for a new paradigm. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 7(20), 69–76.Google Scholar
Hill Collins, P. (1998). Intersections of race, class, gender, and the nation: Some implications for black family studies. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 29(1), 27–36.Google Scholar
Karpiak, S.E., Shippy, R.A., & Cantor, M.H. (2006). Research on older adults with HIV. New York: AIDS Community Research Initiative of America.King, D.K. (1988). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a black feminist ideology. Signs, 14, 42–72.Google Scholar
Leaver, C.A., Bargh, G., Dunn, J.R., & Hwang, S. (2007). The effects of housing status on health-related outcomes in people living with HIV: A systematic review of the literature. AIDS and Behaviour, 11(Suppl. 2), 85–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lipman, B. (2009). Elderly homeless men and women: Aged care’s forgotten people. Australian Social Work, 62(2), 272–286.Google Scholar
Lundy, C. (2004). Social work and social justice. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press.Google Scholar
MacDonald, L., Dergal, J., & Cleghorn, L. (2007). Living on the margins: Older homeless adults in Toronto. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 49(1), 19–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maclean, M.J., & Clapp, C. (2001). HIV/AIDS and aging: Implications for social work with older caregivers. Canadian Social Work, 3(10), 67–74.Google Scholar
Moreau, M. (1979). A structural approach to social work practice. Canadian Journal of Social Work Education, 5(1), 78–94.Google Scholar
Mullaly, B. (2007). The new structural social work (3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nichols, J.E., Speer, D.C., Watson, B.J., Watson, M., Vergon, T.L., Vallee, C.M., et al. . (2002). Aging with HIV: Psychological, social and health issues. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Poindexter, C. (2004). Midlife and older adults and HIV: Implications for social services research, practice, and policy. New York: Haworth Press.Google Scholar
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2010a). HIV/AIDS Epi Update- July 2010: HIV among older Canadians. Retrieved May 21, 2011 from, http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/aids-sida/publication/epi/2010/pdf/EN_Chapter6_Web.pdf.Google Scholar
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2010b). HIV and AIDS in Canada. Surveillance report to December 31, 2009. Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada.Google Scholar
Remis, R.S., Swantee, C., & Liu, K. (2009). Report on HIV/AIDS in Ontario - 2007. Toronto, Ontario: Ontario HIV Epidemiological Monitoring Unit.Google Scholar
Richards, E. (2009). Identifying barriers to inclusive long-term care for gay and lesbian seniors. Unpublished thesis, Carleton University.Google Scholar
Riley, M.W., Ory, M.G., & Zablotsky, D. (1989). AIDS in an aging society: What we need to know. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Robinson, W.A., Petty, M.S., Patton, C., & Kang, H. (2008). Aging with HIV: Historical and intra-community differences in experience of aging with HIV. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 20(1–2), 111–128.Google Scholar
Scott, S., & Constantine, L.M. (1999). The Lazurus syndrome: A second chance for life with HIV infection. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, 39(4), 462–466.Google Scholar
Schensul, J.J., Levy, J.A., & Disch, W.B. (2003). Individual, contextual, and social network factors affecting exposure to HIV/AIDS risk among older residents living in low-income senior housing complexes. JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 33(2), S138–S152.Google Scholar
Shapcott, M. (2004). “Housing”. In Raphael, D. (Ed.), Social determinants of health: Canadian perspectives (pp. 201–216). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Scholar’s Press.Google Scholar
Sherr, L., Harding, R., Lampe, F., Johnson, M., Anderson, J., Zetler, S., et al. . (2009). Clinical and behavioural aspects of aging with HIV infection. Psychology of Health and Medicine, 14(3), 273–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shubert, V., & Bernstine, N. (2007). Moving from fact to policy: Housing is HIV prevention and care. AIDS and Behavior, 11(Suppl. 2), 172–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stergiopoulos, V., & Herrmann, N. (2003). Old and homeless: A review and survey of older adults who use shelters in an urban setting. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48, 374–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuart, H.L., & Arboleda-Florez, J. (2000). Homeless shelter users in the post deinstitutionalization era. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 55–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, R., & Koornstra, J.J. (2008). Positive Spaces, Healthy Places: Methods, baseline findings, health outcomes at 6 months. Paper presented at the Third National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit, Baltimore, Maryland.Google Scholar
Tutty, L.M., Rothery, M.A., & Grinnell, R.M. (1996). Qualitative research for social workers. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
UNAIDS (1999). From principle to practice: Greater involvement of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS (GIPA). Geneva: UNAIDS.Google Scholar
Wallach, I. (2009). Abstract P331: Aging with HIV/AIDS: A qualitative study of the experience of people 50 years and over living in Quebec. The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology, 20(Suppl. SB), 84B.Google Scholar
Wolitski, R.J., Kidder, D.P., Pals, S.L., Royal, S., Aidala, A., Stall, R., et al. . (2010). Randomized trial of the effects of housing assistance on the health and risk behaviors of homeless and unstably housed people living with HIV. AIDS & Behavior, 14(3), 493–503.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wooten-Bielski, K. (1999). HIV & older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 20(5), 268–272.Google Scholar
Wyatt, A. (1996). “Long term care.” In Nokes, K.M. (Ed.), HIV and the older adult (pp. 83–94). Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Young, I.M. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar