Midlife Women with HIV

Women are the fastest growing population infected with HIV. They are more impoverished, less healthy, and they succumb to AIDS faster than men. Even in Wisconsin, a relatively low prevalence state, HIV/AIDS is a significant cause of morbidity and death for women, especially women of color. However, with improved antiretroviral medi cations and clinical care, many women diagnosed today with HIV will live into old age. What are their prospects for “successful aging?” This essay presents qualitative data on 9 midlife Wisconsin women living with HIV to speculate about the probable trajectories and outcomes of their life-courses, highlighting their key security and longevity challenges. Financial resources, social support, health care and health needs will be critical to their prospects for survival. Only by strengthening basic social provisions for many marginalized groups in the United States will women with HIV have the prospect of sharing a future of “successful aging” that many other Americans take for granted.