The Unintended

Consequences
of AIDS Survival
Written by Matt Sharp

Oh my friends my
friends forgive me,
that I live and you
are gone. Theres a
grief that cant be
spoken, theres a pain
goes on and on.
Herbert Kretzmer from Les Misrables

Contents
1 Introduction and Background................................................ 3
2 Overview...................................................................................... 6
3 AIDS Survivor Historical Timeline
and Epidemiological Data....................................................... 8

4 The Miracle of HIV/AIDS Survival

in the United States................................................................10

5 The Unintended Consequences

of HIV/AIDS Survival...............................................................13

6 Survivor Response and

Community Mobilization ......................................................17

7 Conclusions...............................................................................22
References.................................................................................23
Information about the Author..............................................24

Introduction and Background

On June 5, 1981, a cluster of rare infections in gay men in Los Angeles was first reported by
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).1 From that ominous day, an outbreak of a new, unnamed
pathogen that was later identified as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) slammed alreadystigmatized communities throughout the United Statespredominantly gay men, injection drug users,
heterosexual women, African Americans, and Latinos. New cases soon spread like wildfire around the
globe. No plague in modern times has taken such a devastating toll on this countrys health,
economy, and welfare.
Today, HIV/AIDS is in its 35th year and its impact will continue to be felt for decades. Millions have
been struck by the havoc of this disease: people who contracted it as adults, those who have lived
with it their entire lives, having been infected from birth, and the providers, caregivers, and
support volunteers who are also truly survivors, even if they never contracted the virus. Each
groupand many subgroups within themhas its own issues and characteristics, but many will
likely have lifelong scars from the deep trauma, stigma, grief, and devastation of the disease, and
all are a part of the family of survivors that live on with the legacy of the extraordinary fight.
At the outset of the epidemic, grassroots mobilization began almost immediately in urban centers, as
government and institutional leaders were unable to provide answers to the questions surrounding this
new disease. Nationwide fear of contagion, and of anyone in a high-risk population, led to some of the
most damaging stigmatization in years. In San Francisco, one of the first instances of AIDS activism
were photographs of the first men to fall ill posted on a pharmacy window in the Castro.2 This became
an alert to the neighborhood of the sudden crisis, as well as a call to action and a plea for help.
Before long, hospitals were flooded with the sick and dying. Funds were raised, and marches were
organized. A huge AIDS patient empowerment advocacy movement was organized, uniting the
courageous leaders in the fight against AIDS. In 1983, a powerful document known as The Denver
Principles was released by activists to demand basic rights for people living with AIDS.1 ACT UP (AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power) and its brilliant tactics of clamorous public demonstrations, including
3

peaceful civil disobedience and witty, in-your-face media campaigns and graphics, was founded by
Larry Kramer in New York City in 1987. In-depth scientific and medical knowledge was crucial, and
providing it became an important ACT UP function. Activists became knowledgeable with complex
scientific, regulatory, and economic information that provided critical defense with corporate,
institutional, and governmental decision-makers. Soon, ACT UP chapters spread worldwide and
became the face of outrage at society and systems that were blind to AIDS.
AIDS mobilization essentially created both a powerful force and an opportunity for people with
common bonds to join together to handle an epidemic that threatened their very existence. They did
this with grace and dignity, and sometimes anger and rage. The HIV/AIDS survivor mobilization that
has begun in the last several years was largely informed by these early AIDS grassroots efforts.
Over the past 35 years, tens of millions of people around the world have lost their lives to AIDSrelated causes.3 In the United Statesthe focus of this report698,000 people have died.4 However,
significant treatment advances have been made, as evidenced by the approximately 1.2 million people
currently living with HIV.4 In the United States, AIDS mortality is now at its lowest, having dropped
80% since peaking in 1995.4 In addition, taking 1 pill a day can now virtually prevent the transmission
of HIV to someone else. An HIV vaccine, the one thing that could truly end AIDS, has remained elusive,
and there is still no cure. But focused community advocacy and
hope, backed up by focused international research efforts, have
resulted in theoretical strategies for developing a cure, and there are

In the United States,

many clinical trials currently underway to test these hypotheses. The

AIDS mortality is now

profound scientific advances that have been achieved, combined

at its lowest, having

with ongoing research, have led a few localized US areas to envision

dropped 80% since

a future without this devastating epidemic, and develop public

health campaigns with the goal of bringing the infection rate as

peaking in 1995.4

close to zero as possible.

Great strides have been made already, and new HIV infections have stabilized in many groups. In
certain populations, though, they continue to go upfor instance, HIV diagnoses increased 16%
in young (aged 13-24 years) Hispanic/Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) from 2010 to 2014,
while they decreased slightly in young African American and white MSM.5 In addition, although
increases slowed to less than 1% between 2010 and 2014, incidence of HIV infection among African
American MSM increased 22% between 2005 and 2014.6 We can see success with these statistics,
but there is a long way still to go, and disparities continueand so the fight against HIV continues.

In addition to the ongoing scientific advances toward HIV prevention and a cure, there are other
reasons to celebrate. Chief among them is the fact that hundreds of thousands of people living with
HIV/AIDS are surviving well into old agesomething never imagined at the onset of the epidemic
and their numbers are growing.7 Some of these survivors have lived half their lives with HIV/AIDS.
But even this miraculous achievement has a downside: long-term survival with the disease and
receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) has created some unexpected challenges.

Overview

This paper focuses on the unique story and aspects of HIV/AIDS survivorship in the United States,
and the movement that this phenomenon has generated. It includes survivor needs-assessment
information directly from the hardest hit communities, evidence-based behavioral and clinical
research, theoretical and historical accounts, best practice program models, and finally advocacy
and community mobilization efforts.
Since survivors are being addressed in this paper, its important that a basic historical timeline
of the epidemic is presented. In Section 3, the AIDS historical graphic contextualizes survivor
trauma as well as positive milestones for readers who may be unaware of this history. Additional
context in this section comes from epidemiological data from the first reported cases to survival
rates, overlaying the milestones on the graphic. While it would be ideal to be able to provide an
epidemiologic breakdown of HIV survivors and who they aretheir age, sex, and raceto show
how the epidemic has shifted and evolved, this is not possible, since specific data are not
collected on who has survived and for how long.
People with HIV/AIDS who were infected prior to the advent of effective combination therapy in
the mid-nineties and are still alive are considered long-term survivors. Section 4 explains the
historic advance that changed the course of the epidemic, allowing thousands of survivors to live
into today. Also covered are the mortality curves as a result of both prophylactic and combination
antiretroviral therapy that represent the historic breakthrough, which led to what was coined as
the Lazarus effect. More information on the improvement of survival rates and life expectancy
is also provided in this section.
Section 5 breaks down the unintended consequences of HIV/AIDS survival. These include
trauma, leading in many cases to addiction and other psychosocial and mental health issues,
premature aging, effects on the body of ongoing immune activation, and practical living survivor
stressors. It is our hope that reading about and understanding these unintended consequences
of HIV/AIDS survival in this paper will help increase survivor and community awareness and
stimulate research that could uncover critical interventions, and lead to policy changes. If long6

term survivors are addressed adequately and rapidly, a critical challenge in the fight against
AIDS can be overcome.
Finally, Section 6 tells the community survivor story. While awareness still needs to be increased,
many in the HIV community have been working to support long-term survivors dealing with the
unintended consequences of survival. This section describes the initiation and development of
survivor mobilization and advocacy, and offers examples of some best program practices and
effective models in the support, care, and treatment of survivors.*

*Every effort has been made to include the most current information possible. However, because the field is so fluid, new material may unintentionally
be left out of this paper.

AIDS Survivor Historical Timeline

and Epidemiological Data

Year

1981

Event

Data

June 5: MMWR reports 5 cases of a rare infection

in young gay men in Los Angeles; additional
reports soon lead to the labeling of a new
disease: gay-related immune deficiency, or GRID1
December: First photographs showing Gay
Cancer are placed in the window of the Star
Pharmacy in the Castro district2

1982

In the period between 1981

and 1987, there were 50,280 AIDS cases
reported, with the highest incidences
among white males and men aged 30-39
years; 95.5% of people with AIDS died8

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was the

name given to the largest and most devastating
plague of modern times1
First congressional hearing on AIDS1

1983

Denver Principles introduced1

1984

Discovery and naming of HIV1

1985

Ronald Reagan first mentions AIDS1

1987
1988

ACT UP founded1
First AIDS drug approved (AZT)1
ACT UP targets the FDA in massive civil
disobedience and demonstration; FDA changes
regulations to accelerate drug approvals1

AIDS becomes the number 1 cause of death

for US men aged 25 through 44 years1

1992
1993

Between 1988 and 1992, there were

202,520 people with AIDS, with white males
and men aged 30-39 years making up
about half of all cases; 89.5% of people
with AIDS died8

Between 1993 and 1995, there were 257,262

people with AIDS, with men aged 30-39
years making up 45% of all cases, and the
percentage of white men dropping to 42%;
the total death rate dropped to 62%8

Expanded definition of AIDS1

Year

1995

Event

Data

Effective combination ART studies first presented9

Number of AIDS cases reported in the

United States passes 500,0001
First-ever decline in the number of new
AIDS cases reported in the United States1

1996

Almost half of AIDS-related deaths occur in

African Americans, making mortality almost
10 times that of whites1

1997

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)

becomes standard of care1

2007

Between 1996 and 2000, 264,405 AIDS

cases were reported; men aged 30-39
years were still the largest group, but
increases were seen in older men; African
American men made up the largest group at
45%; the death rate dropped to 23%8
US AIDS-related death toll passes 565,0001

Timothy Brown, aka The Berlin Patient, is the

first reported AIDS cure case1

2008

First evidence that HIV treatment may be

associated with life expectancies up to 70 years1
September 18 is the first National HIV/AIDS and
Aging Awareness Day1

2010

First national HIV/AIDS strategy released1

2012

PrEP pill for the prevention of HIV transmission

approved by the FDA1

New treatment recommendations to treat all

adults and adolescents with HIV regardless
of viral load1

2013

Long-term survivor mobilization begins in

San Francisco

42% of all diagnosed HIV cases were in

people 50 years of age or older10

2014

Studies show life expectancy increasing in the

US and Canada11

2015

Rickabaugh et al reported data from the

Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) showing
signs of aging in HIV samples equivalent to aging
expected in people 14 years older13

The majority of people living with HIV/AIDS

in the US are anticipated to be over 50
years of age12
Estimated 70% of people living
with HIV/AIDS will be over 50 years of age12

2020

The Miracle of HIV/AIDS Survival

in the United States

As we have seen, significant strides have been made in reducing the incidence of AIDS and increasing
survival time for those living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS incidence hit its highest point in the early 1990s
and then began to decline. New AIDS diagnoses peaked in 1993 specifically due to the expanded
definition of the disease. Fortunately, combination ART that included a new potent drug class known
as protease inhibitors began to have apparent effectiveness in the mid- to late-nineties. The
greatest impact was among gay men and racial and ethnic minorities. There were, however, still
increases in cases in women and cases associated with heterosexual transmission. The famous
graphic showing the inversion of mortality rates to number of people taking ART was dramatic (see
below: The Lazarus Effect).14 And as mortality rates and AIDS incidence have leveled off over recent
years, the number of people living with and surviving HIV has risenexactly what you hope to
see in an epidemic with effective and successful treatment in the short term.
HIV no longer carries the horrifying death sentence it once did if people know their status and get
on treatment as soon as possible, and survival rates have improved steadily as treatments have
proven more effective and more people are gaining access. If people are able to manage and stay
on treatmentwhich is now easier than ever for many, with lower pill burden and simpler dosing
they can survive as long as their HIV-negative counterparts, although in some groups, including
women, people of color, and injection-drug users, predicted life expectancy remains lower
compared to the general population.
As mentioned above, however, there is a major caveat to increased survival rates, which some refer
to as the graying of the epidemic. Long-term survivors diagnosed early in the epidemic are
generally at least 45 years old now. With research showing earlier biological aging in addition to the
higher risk of associated life-threatening comorbidities that are normally associated with people over
65, we are faced with what might be a particularly tenuous health situation for these survivors (see
further detail in Section 5).

10

The Lazarus Effect

In the mid-nineties, a remarkable breakthrough was made in HIV therapy. Highly-active antiretroviral
therapy (HAART), a treatment approach using very potent antiretroviral drugs in just the right
combination, was shown in studies to bring virus levels to undetectable levels in the majority
of patients for a sustained period. This was commonly referred to as the Lazarus effect, from the
biblical story of Jesus miraculously raising the dead Lazarus from the grave. For those who had
survived the first years of the epidemic, it did seem like a miracle.
Health improved, weight and energy were restored, and many were able to return to a seemingly
normal existence. For the first time in the epidemics history in the United States and developed
countries, the mortality rate dipped sharply. Hospital AIDS wards
began to see fewer terminally ill AIDS patients. AIDS hospices

For the first time in

closed and AIDS service organizations shuffled their program

the epidemics history

priorities. Some survivors returned to work and school with a new

lease on life. Others, however, struggled to regain balance, having

in the United States

seen their community and loved ones decimated, and having

and developed

fought their own way through against a backdrop of continued

countries, the mortality

stigma and other life challenges. Survivorship is not always easy.

rate dipped sharply.

Over the next 2 decades, the pharmaceutical industry sought out,

discovered, and developed over 30 drugs to target HIV. The advance is unprecedented in medical
history, including new drug classes, once-daily pills, and fixed-dose tablets that make taking the drugs
simpler. Now, most people with HIV have choices, and doctors can tailor effective medications to
individual needs.
Nonetheless, the epidemic rages on. More than 100 people are infected every day in the United
States.15 Stigma and complex social justice issues still tangle the success that has been made.
New people living with AIDS are learning their own particular survival skills. The issues for each
survivorwhether a long-time HIV survivor, an uninfected caregiver, or a perinatally infected
young adulthave similarities and differences, but all share one constant: a focus on surviving
and thriving with HIV.
What defines a survivor? In some diseases, like cancer, living for 5 years is what makes a survivor. We
generally refer to long-term HIV survivors as those who were diagnosed prior to the advent of effective
ART in the mid-nineties. These survivors are given special honor in our communities not only because
they have miraculously lived decades with HIV/AIDS, but also because so many of them are thriving
today. Further, many have committed much of their lives to fighting to make change within the system.
11

There are also long-term survivors who were infected at birth and are as old as the epidemic itself.
Some tell of living through unimaginable stigma and loss for most of their young lives, in practical
isolation and with little community support. This is another type of survivor who must be recognized.
Many other veterans of the AIDS movement have expressed an affiliation or affinity to the growing
HIV/AIDS survivor movement. Uninfected men and women, family members, partners, caregivers,
and community members fought for so many lives, many on the front lines of support, care and
treatment, often providing the only strong backbone for those suffering to rely on.

12

The Unintended Consequences

of HIV/AIDS Survival

While there is no argument that the promise of long-term survival with HIV/AIDS is to be celebrated, it
is not without its own significant challenges.

Spencer Cox and the Medius Report

In the new millennium, the HIV treatment paradigm shift made long-term survival possible for tens
of thousands of people. But the transition into this new treatment era wasnt seamless. In the gay
community, it seemed to be a time of celebration for many, but others had difficulties. Not everyone
with HIV achieved treatment success and many had to fight for newer, more effective antiviral drugs.
For almost everyone, whole networks of friends, as well as jobs and homes, had been lost. In the
new era of survival, the trauma and stress of the past was unintentionally swept under the rug,
which may have led some survivors into loneliness, depression, and self-harming behaviors.
In 2004, Spencer Cox, a veteran ACT UP New York activist, began noticing these mental health issues
and substance abuse behaviors among survivors (particularly gay men in their 40s through 70s), and
questioned if the growing problem might be related to survivor trauma and posttraumatic stress. Cox
and others founded the Medius Institute for Gay Mens Health, a remarkable project dedicated to
improving the health, well-being, and longevity of gay men. It was the first project to recognize and
begin research into mental health issues, or unintended consequences of HIV/AIDS survival.
Tragically, Spencer also had issues with depression and drug addiction and at 44, in 2012, he died
of an opportunistic infection because he had stopped taking his antiretroviral medications. As a
leader in the ACT UP movement, his death was widely publicized and sent shockwaves through the
AIDS community that wanted to make sense of his early death.
If there is a silver lining to this immense loss, it is the legacy that Spencer left through ACT UP, through
Medius, and in his brilliant essay, The Legacy of the Past: Gay Men in Mid-Life and the Impact of HIV/
AIDS. The document provides an apt rationale for many of the questions and concerns of survivorship,
and serves as an important framework for much of todays AIDS survivor movement.
13

Psychosocial and Mental Health Issues

As survivors grow older they may experience an array of psychosocial issuesmental health
issues that may overlap with social issuessuch as depression, anxiety, isolation, and even
suicidal thoughts or actions resulting from decades of unprocessed grief, physical illness, and
trauma. While survivors say they have learned over time to live well with HIV,16 some also have
shared stories of struggle and poor outlook from uncertainty about the

Even the
diagnosis of

future, inability to plan,16,17 and even survivors guilt18 and battle fatigue
from years of living with HIV. Long-term survivors also described trauma
from stigma and personal loss, such as abandonment by family and

HIV itself has

friends or the death a partner or friends from AIDS.19 Even the diagnosis

been called a

of HIV itself has been called a severe traumatic event.20 These issues

severe traumatic

may also be experienced by caregivers and should not be overlooked.

event.20

Informal caregivers of people living with HIV had high burden, stress,
and depressive symptoms21 with self-reported depressive symptoms
being linked to HIV caregiving-related stigma.22

It is becoming more evident how severely trauma impacts the mental well-being of long-term
survivors. Traumatic events affecting people with HIV have been linked to an increased risk of
developing posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD, reported in studies to occur in 5%-74% of
people living with HIV/AIDS compared with 7%-10% in the general population.23 The studies were
performed primarily in the United States and the range of reported PTSD prevalence indicates more
intensive monitoring of PTSD needs to be done to truly understand how many people living with HIV
are affected. To complicate matters, PTSD may coexist with other psychosocial issues including
depression24 or feelings of poor social support in HIV-infected women.25 And again we see the role
of stigma. When combined with other trauma, internalized HIV stigma was positively linked to the
severity and course of PTSD symptoms.26 PTSD and trauma have been mentioned as reasons people
do not adhere to their ART regimen;27 specifically, women experiencing recent trauma were 4 times
more likely to fail ART.28 The trauma seen in HIV/AIDS survivors is multifaceted and complicated and
may be seen as similar to complex PTSD, a syndrome of repetitive or prolonged trauma first
described by Judith Herman in 1992.29
The role of social support and the experience of social isolation described by long-term HIV/AIDS
survivors is becoming better understood, but much more study is needed. In a group of people 50
years of age or older, and most living with HIV for 10 or more years, a majority said they did
not receive enough support.30 And stigma in this setting led to reporting feelings of rejection,
concerns about disclosure, silence, and being stereotyped31responses that could be socially
14

isolating. More than half of people who felt a lack of support also described feelings of loneliness
and depression,30 and experienced more PTSD symptoms the longer they lived with HIV.32 Social
support may provide that all-important buffer to help moderate the severity of PTSD symptoms. But
maintaining social support can be hard since long-term survivors may find they need to adjust family
relationships or redefine their friendship group over time,33 given the stigma and loss many experience.
A comparable problem is HIV-related disability resulting from physical and mental health symptoms
or impairment, or difficulty completing activities of daily living that have been directly linked to
challenges in maintaining social inclusion. However, until recently there were no tools to understand
the relationship between disability and social inclusion. The Episodic Disability Framework is a
new tool, the first designed to understand disability from the perspective of a person living with
HIV and to study disability in relation to social inclusion.34,35 Insights about how disability and
social inclusion are connected may lead to better approaches to help survivors maintain important
social connections with others.

Physiological Findings
Because of both effective medication regimens and the continued incidence

In 2013, 42%

of new infections in older people, we are seeing more people than ever

of the people

who are older than 50 years of age with HIV. In 2013, 42% of the people

living with

living with diagnosed HIV were aged 50 years and older,10 and that
percentage can only be expected to increase. While this is happening, we

diagnosed HIV

find ourselves unprepared, though, as there are very little data available

were aged

on HIV in those aged 65 years and older to inform the medical treatment,

50 years

psychosocial support systems, and policy decisions needed to ensure that

and older,10

older people with HIV can continue to live healthy and fulfilling lives as
they age.

It is becoming increasingly evident that even with complete viral suppression, those aging with HIV
are experiencing multiple comorbidities that can dramatically affect both their health and quality
of life. Very shortly after Spencer Coxs completed his work with the Medius project, AIDS clinicians
and their patients began noticing troubling physiological symptoms in survivors. In particular, they
were finding signs of aging earlier than expected. Getting older was certainly a better prospect that
dying, but researchers discovered that immunologic processes known as immunosenescence, or
immune system deterioration, appear to be occurring in people with HIV.13,36 It was also discovered
that ongoing immune activation despite HIV control leads to a constant low-level inflammation,
like burning embers in a fire.37,38
15

And in 2015, Rickabaugh and colleagues reported data from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study
(MACS) showing that blood samples from people with HIV showed clinical signs of aging equivalent
to those 14 years older in the age-matched HIV-negative cohort.13 These researchers believe that
HIV causes increased methylationsomething that occurs naturally with agingand that this effect
is additive with those of aging, essentially resulting in accelerated aging.
Existing research has enumerated the multiple comorbidities experiencedoften earlier than we
would expect in a noninfected individualas people grow older with HIV. These include higher
rates of dyslipidemias, hypertension, insulin resistance and diabetes, kidney and liver damage,
osteoporosis, increased incidence of certain cancers, frailty, stigmatizing body shape changes,
and neurological damage that can affect memory and executive functioning.37-39
Bringing together the potential impact of HIV on both physiological and psychosocial aspects of life,
some researchers have started to examine geriatric syndromes in HIV survivors. Geriatric syndromes
are types of conditions that clinicians use to define and describe progression in aging. Because
geriatric syndromes are multifactorialthat is, they involve deterioration of not only clinical elements,
but also psychosocial and environmental onesand HIV also has highly complex effects, researchers
have hypothesized and found that geriatric syndromes may be accelerated in HIV survivors.40 This is
just further evidence of the need to take special care when treating HIV survivors, clinically or with
psychosocial support.
We are now seeing what is essentially the first cohort of long-term survivors, and they are facing a
unique set of problems and resulting needs that must be addressed if some of our healthcare and
social systems in areas with high HIV prevalence are not to be overwhelmed. More research is
needed to inform the interventions needed to address these problems. But at the same time, we
must remember and build upon the incredible resiliency that has so far defined HIV survivors, and
study those resilience factors. In doing so, we can ensure that we are able to provide the clinical,
sociobehavioral, and policy solutions that will ensure that those who survived the worst days of
the AIDS epidemic are allowed to age with dignity, meaning, and purpose.

16

Survivor Response and

Community Mobilization

In 2013, 3 long-term survivors from San Francisco, all former ACT UP Golden Gate activists, were
growing concerned about disturbing mental health trends in the community. Many of their friends,
most of whom were also long-term survivors, seemed to be in a major funksome for years.
Depression had become all too common and so many people seemed isolated and lost, even in
the vibrant city of San Francisco. There were other issues that arose as well, such as economic
stress in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Many survivors were on strict disability
plans and had no options but to stay where they were, and rents were skyrocketing. There was
confusion and some community apathy about what to do, how to plan for any future that was left,
how to reengage with the community, and how to become alive again.
These survivors were despondent and became worried about their future. As we recognized from
our past history of activism, there was a need for an awakening; a kind of survivor community
mobilization. It was time to gather together to listen and learn as much as possible, and work
together to meet these new challenges posed by HIV/AIDS. Soon, a clearer idea of possible
solutions would develop from a collective survivor response.
At about that time, the news of Spencer Coxs death came. And there were survivor suicides right
in our own community. Lack of support for aging and survivorship issues from the AIDS service
organizations we had relied on for so long was virtually nonexistent. There were no specific
programs for long-term survivors in most city organizations or almost anywhere in the country, for
that matter. It became clear that survivorship, and the unintended consequences associated with
it, were not seriously considered in a community that clearly had other priorities.
In order to slow this destructive trend, survivors had to take charge and take matters into their own
hands, as had always happened in this community. A steering committee of about 8 long-term
survivors volunteered to organize and strategize each week in a small space at Castro and 18th,
just 1 block but light-years away from the ACT UP Golden Gate meeting space. The meetings were
incredibly emotional as each person told their survivor stories. The process of returning to community
17

mobilization after so many years of little activity was difficult for the committee. In no time, though, an
incredible reunion of survivors in the San Francisco community took shape, and issues poured forth as
people told their stories, their voices were heard, and action was taken to begin addressing the future.
The first town hall forum for HIV/AIDS survivors was held in September 2013. More than 175 people
came together in a packed room at the LGBT Center. Clearly, a nerve had been struck, and people
wanted to speak out and wanted to be heard. Survivors reunited that night for a kind of cathartic
experience, and left with vigor, renewed energy, and hope. Valuable information was collected from
survivors about a myriad of issues, how lives had changed, and what needed to change in the city.
In only a few months, after several town hall meetings and lots of press, there was a clear sense of
long-term survivor mobilization and activity in San Francisco. It was evident that 1 identified issue
isolationwas being addressed just by taking these first steps and coming together.

Survivor Policy Advocacy

Survivor mobilization, advocacy, and energy has led to improvement in HIV aging focus in the San
Francisco city government. A San Francisco Department of Aging & Adult Services subcommittee for
seniors known as the Long-term Care Coordinating Committee has formed an active HIV and Aging
policy workgroup. The workgroup has been tireless in coordinating a citywide HIV and aging needs
assessment and policy recommendations report.

The recommendations include:

San Francisco HIV and aging
needs assessment
Affordable housing
Mental health and psychosocial services
Medical and nonmedical training for
geriatricians and HIV providers
Continuation of the HIV and Aging workgroup

Increased and sustained linkage to care

Support for transgender inclusion in
health services
Support for LGBT and Getting to Zero
consortium recommendations
Legal, financial, and employment services
Food security

A budget recommendation has also been approved by the city.

18

Survivor Support Services

New social meeting groups have become very successful and are a model for engaging HIV/AIDS
long-term survivors. The Elizabeth Taylor 50-Plus Network for Gay, Bisexual, and Trans Men at
the San Francisco AIDS Foundation uses social media to keep hundreds of members engaged in
social activities several times a week. Regular group emails keep members aware of a wide variety
of social gatherings, volunteer opportunities, free entertainment options, and more.
Honoring Our Experience is a weekend, out-of-town retreat for all people affected by HIV.
Experiential in nature, the facilitated retreat fosters engagement of the whole person: mind, body,
and spirit. Participants share stories, music, reflection, walks in nature, writing, laughter, and tears.
Joining together as one community in this retreat enables a unique healing experience through
inspiration from each persons courage and resilience.
HIV Long-term Survivors is a closed Facebook group with thousands of members internationally,
which is generating a lot of buzz and mobilizing HIV/AIDS long- term survivors all over the world.
Housing is a huge burden on older people with HIV, especially in San Francisco. Openhouse focuses
on LGBT senior services and referrals and is a terrific resource for HIV seniors.
Building on the success in San Francisco, national projects designed to reach survivors across
the country are underway. The Reunion Project, offered with support from Bristol-Myers Squibb
and Test Positive Aware Network in Chicago, is a town hall reunion for survivors staged in
selected host cities. A reunion is often the first time a group of survivors has met together to tell
their stories of survival, feels part of a community, end isolation, and begin to hope. To set up a
reunion, national organizers work with volunteers in the host cities to plan the summit program
agenda and strategy tailored to the survivors in their city. Since starting the project in 2015, The
Reunion Project Town Hall events have been held in Chicago; Palm Springs, CA; and Philadelphia.
Increasing diversity is a primary goal for the future, and The Reunion Project is currently diversifying
leadership and planning summits in South Florida and Atlanta. New funding will bring the summits
to more cities in 2017.
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), a major national AIDS organization, has begun a national
service provider training program called HIV 50+ Strong and Healthy. The first training took place
at the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) in September 2016. It is slated to continue.

19

Research Efforts
Mechanisms of the unintended psychosocial consequences of survival are complex and unique,
and developing interventions and research are only beginning to shed light. As usual, there
remain many more questions than answers. Noted researchers such as Rick Loftus, MD; Ron Stall,
PhD, MPH; Adam Carrico, PhD; Michael Plankey, MD; and David Fawcett, PhD have brought to
light a variety of behavioral factors mostly with HIV-positive gay men, and no doubt, their
continued interest in the field may garner hope.
In New York City, the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA) is recognized as a
leader and one of the first groups to dedicate research provider trainings and programming for
older adults in HIV. In 2006, a comprehensive study of 1000 older adults living in New York City
was published41: Research on Older Adults with HIV (ROAH) is the first study of its kind and focuses
on psychosocial, societal, and mental health components in older HIV-positive people. A second
extended, larger, and more comprehensive phase of the study ROAH 2 will be starting in San
Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans/Baton Rouge, San Juan, Houston,
Miami/Ft Lauderdale, and Washington DC. The longitudinal data collected through detailed
surveys and focus groups in ROAH 2 will help build a comprehensive understanding of many of
the issues older people with HIV face every day.
The Coachella Valley Community Research Initiative has leveraged Palm Springs unique
concentration of older people living with HIV to start Project GRACIE (Geriatric Research of AIDS
Comorbidities in the Inland Empire). The purpose of this project is to combine the efforts of loyal HIV
providers to assemble a cohort of those aging with HIVespecially those older than 60on whom
very little data exist. As traditional longitudinal cohorts such as the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study
(MACS) and the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) see funding cut or eliminated, Project GRACIE will
allow researchers to compare participants with their age-matched peers in order to assess the
effects of HIV on aging. Simultaneously, researchers will be able to study interventions for aging
conditions such as body shape changes and neurocognitive problems.
New, fascinating protocols and methodologies into behavioral and psychosocial interventions for
older people are being planned. Many use newer methodologies that have seen success in other
trauma-related diseases such as cancer and cancer recovery. These include eye movement
desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and psilocybin-assisted group therapy. It is encouraging
to see this level of interventional research being planned, especially since older antidepressants,
counseling, and other dated interventions may not be sufficient to address the complicated and
demoralizing trauma experienced by long-term survivors.

20

Awareness of HIV/AIDS long-term survivorship is a dynamic process. New and existing research,
workshops, trainings, committees, town hall forums, retreats, social media, and even 2 major
acclaimed film documentaries, Last Men Standing and Desert Migration, are collectively a force
that will hopefully bring an end to survivor suffering.

21

Conclusions

Since awareness and mobilization within a community of HIV/AIDS survivors began less than
5 years ago in San Francisco, tremendous prospects for a healthy and happy life has become
possible for thousands of people with HIV. Those survivors who have been fortunate to have
access through groups, retreats, documentaries, town halls, AIDS conferences, or social media
are coming out of isolation, working through the tragedy that was AIDS, and becoming active,
engaged, and alive again.
But all HIV/AIDS survivors must take the next step into their future. In spite of the cards they were
dealt, many are now living into their senior years, a kind of miracle no one anticipated when AIDS
first struck. Now, after 35 years, a generation of survivors is trying to make sense of what theyve
been through, hoping and working to keep building a future that once seemed hopeless but now
holds great possibility and promise.

22

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23

Information about the Author

Matt Sharp, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, is a long-term survivor of HIV
and celebrated his 60th birthday this year (2016). Co-founder of The Reunion
Project, he is thriving as a community organizer, AIDS treatment activist, writer
and teacher. He lives in Berkeley, California with his dog Bettie.

Acknowledgements
David Richwine, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Jeff Taylor, Jeff Berry, Susan Wolfson and The Reunion Project
Vince Chrisostomo, San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Brian Anderson, University of California San Francisco
Discovery USA
This report was supported in part by Bristol-Myers Squibb with no editorial input. The
views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect those of Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Also Supported by: