AGING WITH HIV/AIDS CONFERENCE

Public health officials will be listening intently as a panel of HIV-positive seniors gathers to talk about coping with the virus during Living With HIV in Later Life: Challenges for a New Century, a conference slated for Saturday, Nov. 6, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The day-long event, hosted by UIC's Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center, will run from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Chicago Illini Union, 828 S. Wolcott. During this special symposium, physicians and researchers will present the latest findings on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS among adults over age 50.

Nathan Linsk, principal investigator for the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center, says although the incidence of AIDS-related deaths has declined, HIV/AIDS continues to be an aging issue, with older adults consistently comprising between 10 to 15 percent of AIDS cases for many years.

"The fact that the virus affects people over 50 has largely been obscured," he says. "This conference will allow us to illuminate the effects of HIV/AIDS on older adults, and how to accelerate the rate of improvement for prevention and care programs."

AIDS activists and health care specialists will discuss the psychological, ethical and moral issues underlying HIV infection among older adults. Panel discussions and workshops will feature clinical and health services updates of particular interest to seniors living with the virus.

Plenary sessions, panel discussions and workshops by experts will feature such topics as:

· Are Older People Engaging in Risk Behaviors Associated With HIV Infection?

· Ageism and HIV/AIDS Education Programs for Older Adults

· Recent Advances and Future Challenges in HIV in Later Life

· Erectile Dysfunction in the HIV-Positive Patient

· Social Isolation and HIV Risk Among Older Injection-Drug Users

· Assets and Needs of Older HIV-Affected Caregivers: The Forgotten Population

State Representative Larry McKeon of Illinois will speak on the luncheon panel "Living with HIV - Consumer and Advocacy Perspectives," with closing remarks by Marcia G. Ory, chief of Social Science Research on Aging at the National Institute on Aging.

Among the more than 20 speakers are Renslow Sherer, M.D., CORE Center, Chicago; Sandra Welch, American Social Health Association; and Tammy Anderson, UIC School of Public Health.

Conference sponsors are the National Association on HIV Over Fifty (NAHOF) and Test Positive Aware Network of Chicago. Individuals interested in advanced registration should contact Michael Wolf at (312) 996-8707.

To arrange for conference on-site interviews, contact Jane P. Fowler, NAHOF co-chair, (816) 561-8784.

One of several centers located at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC, the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center is a federally funded center providing AIDS and HIV training to health care and social service professionals. As an established regional training center serving six states, it now offers training for more than 1,500 professionals each year.

With 25,000 students, the University of Illinois at Chicago is the largest and most diverse university in the Chicago area. UIC is home to the largest medical school in the United States and is one of the 88 leading research universities in the country. Located just west of Chicago's Loop, UIC is a vital part of the educational, technological and cultural fabric of the area.

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