According to a Los Angeles Times article, there is an increasing national push among public health officials and educators for more HIV prevention efforts aimed at aging baby boomers and seniors.

In Arizona, volunteers regularly have passed out free condoms at community centers, and state health workers in Florida host safe-sex programs in retirement communities. In Broward County, Fla., the Senior HIV Intervention Project recruits retired boomers and older residents throughout the region to become “safe-sexperts” who can convince their neighbors to get tested for STDs.

The article suggests seniors are overlooked in HIV prevention and safe sex education initiatives because the over-50 population is a relatively small segment of the population at-risk for sexually transmitted diseases.

Approximately four times as many HIV diagnoses occurred in people ages 25 to 44 as in those 50 and older, according to a 2005 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But this makes seniors more vulnerable because they are overlooked and may have a false sense of security, or a sense of immunity to STDs as they grow older.

Older patients may feel uncomfortable discussing STD risks. But in addition, doctors are also potentially uncomfortable talking about these issues with patients old enough to be their parents or grandparents, according to a recent study backed by the National Institutes of Health.
Another factor to consider is that people now are living longer than previous generations have, and enjoying extended sex lives because of hormone therapy and erectile dysfunction drugs, according to the article.

What do you think? Do you think more funding should be allocated for HIV education and prevention efforts aimed at seniors? According to the article, the majority of funding for preventive education over the last two decades has been aimed at traditional high-risk populations, including teens, gays and urban residents.