We never expected this to happen’

Narratives of ageing with HIV among gay men living in London, UK

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15099100
AutoresGareth Owen (0000-0002-5166-9332, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, autor de correspondencia), Jose Catalan (0000-0002-3608-1039, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust)
Año2012
Volumen14
Número1
Páginas59-72
Fecha de publicación2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2011.621449
PMID22077645
OpenAlexW2078904940
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas20
Referencias citadas33

The proportion of HIV-positive people over the age of 50 is rapidly increasing in the UK. This reflects the use of antiretroviral therapies and the transformation of HIV from life-threatening disease to chronic treatable illness. In this study a biographical narrative approach was used to explore the lived experience of ageing in 10 HIV-positive gay men aged between 50 and 78. While some participants regarded ageing as an opportunity to continue progressing towards valued life goals, others were more ambivalent about their future prospects. The findings suggest that these differences were particularly influenced by an individual's biographic relationship to the history of the HIV epidemic rather than chronological age. Those with long histories of involvement with HIV were more likely to be disadvantaged by careers interrupted by illness, to be dependent on state benefits and to have social networks damaged by multiple AIDS-related bereavements. The research identifies a cohort of older gay men likely to require additional support in adapting to the challenge of growing older with HIV. The article also explores the construction of moral identities in relation to discourses of 'successful ageing' and the possibility of building supportive communities that are sensitive to the needs of older gay men

Ageing · Ambivalence · Cohort · Disadvantaged · Family medicine · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Narrative · Political science · Sociology · Data Analysis and Archiving · Gender Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Gerontology