A systematic review of psychosocial interventions for older adults living with HIV

The rapidly growing segment of older adults living with HIV faces unique set of psychosocial challenges that may differ from their younger counterparts. The objective of this review is to systematically examine current published literature on interventions designed to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of older adults living with HIV. A pre-specified search strategy was applied to four databases: PubMed, CINAHL Plus with Text, PsycINFO, and Health Source. Authors reviewed published studies on psychosocial interventions for older adults with HIV and reported psychosocial variables as primary outcomes of the interventions. The final review included nine intervention studies. Psychosocial outcomes measured across multiple studies included depression, quality of life, social support, cognitive functioning, and coping skills. Some studies also measured physical activity, HIV-related discrimination, lack of affordable housing, and access to substance abuse treatment. Our study suggests a paucity of psychosocial intervention research on adults aging with HIV. This review suggests that most psychosocial interventions had small to moderate effects in improving the psychosocial wellbeing of older people living with HIV. Findings highlight the need for clinical, community, and home-based interventions to ensure that individuals can achieve a higher quality of life while aging with HIV.