Grant: Doctoral Research Award - Priority Announcement - HIV/AIDS and/or STBBI

The advances of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the past three decades have allowed the transformation of HIV from a deadly infection to a manageable chronic condition. As life expectancy of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) increases and the number of HIV-related deaths decreases, a rise in premature illness and deaths from non-AIDS chronic diseases associated with old age has been simultaneously observed, presenting novel challenges to patients and health providers. In British Columbia (BC), these challenges are augmented by the growing public concerns about the sustainability of its healthcare system as the overall population ages. As such, this study intends to examine, at a population level, the impact of growing older while living with HIV. In particular, this study will utilize advanced statistical models to assess the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), a measure of disease burden considering both early death and disability (i.e., states other than good health), associated with experiencing age-associated and mental health conditions in PLWH and in HIV-negative control population in BC. Ultimately, this study seeks to provide unprecedented data-driven evidence that will identify existing gaps in care for this aging population and an approach that best addresses the future healthcare needs of PLWH.