Tackling ageism in the healthcare system: a community perspective

The UNAIDS political declaration of June 2021 [1] calls for transformative action to end inequalities and end HIV transmission by 2030, and explicitly recognizes that ageing people with HIV face stigma and discrimination across multiple aspects of their lives. UNAIDS is unambiguous in its call to reinforce responses to HIV across the age spectrum, to ensure that the needs of ageing people with HIV are met and that their lives are free from stigma and discrimination. Research into ageing people with HIV that examines the intersectionality of stigmas will play a part in advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This contribution frames ageism as one of the last remaining pillars of stigma and one of the main barriers hindering the ability of ageing people living with HIV to achieve and sustain a good health-related quality of life (HRQOL). For people living with HIV, sexual health and intimate partner relationships are important components of HRQOL and emotional well-being across the life span [2, 3]. Although their importance has been increasingly recognized in the literature [4, 5], the sexuality of ageing people living with HIV is often considered of little importance when assessing HRQOL, despite evidence that older adults continue to desire romantic relationships, intimacy and sexual activity [6, 7]. This would suggest that sexuality, sexual health and sexual desires need to be considered in the assessment of HRQOL.