HAALSI study takes closer look at HIV incidence among older adults in South Africa

Two South African women wearing colorful clothes

While there is much data on the levels of prevalence of HIV among older South Africans, less is known about the risks of older people acquiring HIV. Research from the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) project published in JAIDS finds that there is some risk of acquiring HIV over the age of 50, especially for women.

In South Africa, when HIV testing is not always possible, is self-reported status a viable, reliable alternative?

A team of researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center and the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) has found that the self-reported HIV status of older adults was accurate enough that it could be considered as a routine first step to establish HIV status when testing is not possible. The study was published in JIAS (Journal of the International Aids…

Hypertension well managed for those older South Africans whose health was monitored by long-term surveillance program

A study just out in the Journal of Hypertension co-authored by Harvard Pop Center faculty members Stephen Tollman, Till Bärnighausen, Joshua Salomon, and Bell Fellow Xavier Gomez-Olive points to the potential effectiveness of a local, long-term health surveillance program for managing hypertension, the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The results of the study shed light on which members of the population should be receiving even more attention.

How do functional abilities of aging population in South Africa compare to those in other LMICs?

Researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center have authored a paper based on research from the Health and Aging in Africa: a Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) study that finds that older South African men had 30% higher odds than women of being limited when it came to performing activities of daily living (ADLs), and that this cohort in South Africa (men and women) did not…

Receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV may offer spillover health benefits for at-risk population in South Africa

A team of HAALSI (a research project studying health of aging population in South Africa) researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center has found that HIV-positive adults in South Africa who receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV have greater access to preventative care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and hypertension. Their findings are published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 

HIV prevention initiatives needed targeting those 40 years & older in rural South Africa

A study published in JAIDS (Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes) by a team of HAALSI (Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa) researchers examines whether older adults in rural South Africa have unmet needs for HIV prevention.