HIV
Experts Launch New Healthcare Trends Report
The HIV: The Long View initiative launches today with the release of an evidence-based report that examines the potential implications of future healthcare trends on HIV care and management in Western Europe.
Developed by a multidisciplinary coalition of HIV experts, the report identifies specific actions for all stakeholders to help ensure improved health outcomes for people living with HIV including:
- Ending discrimination related to sexual behaviour, sexual health and HIV status so that everyone who needs HIV care, and counsel about prevention, is comfortable seeking it.
- Ending the “one size fits all” approach to HIV prevention, treatment and education by tailoring HIV-related efforts to specific at-risk populations such as minority ethnic groups and men who have sex with men.
- Developing pathways to collect more HIV patient data to enhance the body of knowledge about HIV, inform treatment algorithms, and ensure people with HIV have every opportunity to benefit from advances in personalized medicine.
- Educating and empowering every person at risk of, or living with, HIV to take charge of their prevention and care now to prevent or delay the onset of chronic conditions in the future.
“Fortunately, we face huge opportunities that could change healthcare for the better, but we’re also encountering unique challenges. The probability of a healthier future for people living with HIV will be impacted by how we respond at community, national and international levels,” said Prof Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. “HIV: The Long View has provided an evidence base to help us set up a long-term vision of care and support for people living with HIV. It’s no longer just about prolonging life with HIV; today we must work towards ensuring quality of life for those living with this virus over the long term.”
With early detection and access to treatment, HIV is a long-term manageable condition for many. By 2030 it is estimated that more than two thirds of the European HIV population will be older than 50 and over a quarter of this older group will be living with three or more chronic diseases.1
This reality of living almost as long as the general population means people living with HIV will also face the same opportunities and challenges in healthcare.2 From the increasing burden of chronic conditions to the growth of personalized medicine, HIV: The Long View explores potential healthcare trends to uncover the implications for HIV care and management. By comparing and contrasting the futures of the general population with those of the HIV population, the report seeks to outline the actions needed today to prepare for a healthier future for people living with, and at risk of, HIV.
The forecasts for healthcare trends have been built on a unique mix of research and data, including a survey of 10,000 Europeans which found that over the next two decades:
- 53% believe that healthcare professionals will be available to people through technology, for example making virtual house calls instead of having to visit in person.
- 67% feel long-term diseases will become a greater burden to the healthcare system due to the ageing population.
- 61% agree that preventive screening will be a mainstay of care.
- 57% would like their doctor to speak to them more about their long-term health.
“HIV advocacy groups and thought-leaders have a unique and powerful connection to the current realities of living with and preventing HIV. That experience was instrumental to the thoughtful and insightful discussions captured in the HIV: The Long View report,” said Mike Elliott, Vice President, Medical Affairs, Gilead Sciences. “The publication of this report is an important milestone towards our shared purpose of helping and encouraging anyone who is living with or at-risk of HIV to plan for a healthy future.”
Source: HIV: The Long View
23.09.2016
