ArticleJournal of the International AIDS Society2021
"It's a burden, it's a nuisance. I wish I didn't have these other ailments": a qualitative exploration of comorbidities management among older people living with HIV who use drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Article in Journal of the International AIDS Society, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ageing with HIV: Medicine Optimisation Challenges and Support Needs for Older People Living with HIV: A Systematic Review.Drugs & aging · 2023Pooled it
- "Once I started going… I had this central wheel hub": Drivers of overdose prevention center engagement and connections to care in Rhode Island.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Central Role of Hypertension in HIV Comorbidity Networks: A Population-Based Study of Age and Sex-Specific Patterns in Southwest China.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Article
- Experiences of Older People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Comorbidity Attending Coordinated Healthcare Services.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2025Article
- Article
- "Everybody looks at it as drug use instead of pain management": Experiences of chronic pain and its management among older people living with HIV who use drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- "It's Like A Partnership": Exploring the Primary Care Experiences and Patient-Defined Goals of People Who Use Drugs.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Article
- Denial of prescription pain medication among people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Evaluating knowledge about HIV and discriminatory attitudes among Pakistani women of reproductive age using 2017-18 Demographic Health Survey data.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The experienced positive and negative influence of HIV on quality of life of people with HIV and vulnerable to HIV in the Netherlands.Scientific reports · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionPeople living with HIV (PLHIV) who use illicit drugs (other than or in addition to cannabis) are living longer due to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Older PLHIV who use drugs have an increased risk for comorbidities, and managing multiple health conditions is a growing concern among this population. However, in-depth understandings of the lived realities and complexities of living with HIV alongside comorbidities among older PLHIV who use drugs remain limited. We sought to explore how older PLHIV who use drugs manage their comorbid conditions in a setting with universal ART access.
methodsBetween January 2019 and March 2020, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted in Vancouver, Canada with 42 older PLHIV who use drugs and were living with at least one comorbidity. All participants were currently on ART, and had initiated treatment at least 2 years prior to the interviews. Data were analysed using inductive and deductive approaches.
resultsSeveral themes were identified through this analysis. First, comorbidities were perceived as more urgent health concerns and prioritized over HIV. Second, stigma and discrimination hindered access to care for comorbidities. Third, the concurrent management of HIV and comorbidities was often challenging due to unmanaged or poorly managed comorbidities. Fourth, the potential impact of ART on the development of comorbidities was a source of concern and frustration. Finally, integrated treatment approaches facilitated engagement with HIV and comorbidities care.
conclusionsOur findings underscore the need for HIV care to shift from a primary focus on managing HIV to an integrated, patient-centred approach that addresses both HIV and non-HIV-related health needs, as well as an equitable and non-judgemental delivery of such care for an ageing population of PLHIV who use drugs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.