Older Americans and AIDS: some guidelines for prevention.

Social workers provide senior citizens with varied services in diverse settings and are in a position to assume leadership in slowing the spread of AIDS among this age group. Unfortunately older people often do not receive the knowledge needed to protect themselves against infection. Historically, older Americans have been largely ignored by HIV/AIDS prevention programs. The major risk behaviors among senior citizens include sexual activity without using condoms, alcohol and drug use, blood transfusions received before 1985, and misdiagnosed opportunistic illness such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, respiratory disease, and sexually transmitted diseases. The article discusses guidelines that can help social workers provide prevention education to older Americans. Social work's primary prevention AIDS education efforts can help older adults safely live out the rest of their lives secure in the understanding that they possess the knowledge to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS infection.