The Care and Wellbeing Center Learning Collaborative Archive contains our Learning Collaborative session recordings, implementation tools, and Community Advisory Board recommendations. Our sessions integrate live problem solving and discussion with subject matter experts and other HIV and Aging service providers. Membership is free and is available to all providers serving people living with HIV over 50 in the Western United States. Click below to fill out our Learning Collaborative Interest Form and get the most out of our sessions!
Click here to fill out our Learning Collaborative Interest Form
Learning Collaborative Recordings
Meet the Grantees
In our first learning collaborative, representatives throughout the West region of the Gilead HIV Age Positively Initiative share their models of service for people living with HIV over 50. Our learning collaborative members include Cascade AIDS Project, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Shanti Project, MPact Global Action, Christie’s Place, APLA Health, and the LA LGBT Center.
Community Engagement and Partnership
In our second learning collaborative, Tim Vincent of Brothers of the Desert join us to share his experience of identifying community needs and building an organization for Black gay men and their allies in the Coachella Valley. Learn more about Brothers of the Desert here.
The learning objectives for this session included:
- Describe opportunities to engage community members to identify program priorities.
- Explain the utility of non-traditional partnerships to curate community-specific programming.
- Develop systems and protocols to collaborate with community members in order to improve HIV and Aging service provision and partnership priorities.
Community Engagement Planning Tool
Engaging your target client community and assessing their needs is a vital step in creating client-centered services, This worksheet guides users through the community engagement planning, execution, and evaluation process. It contains different sections including identifying community priorities, determining engagement strategies, establishing data collection and evaluation metrics, and creating action items using community feedback. Use or adapt each section as needed to best address the needs of your clients.
Breaking Social Isolation
In our third learning collaborative, Dr. Judy Tan from the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies shares how the United Voices program uses group singing as social cure for HIV stigma in people living with HIV over 50. More information about United Voices can be found here.
The learning objectives for this session included:
- Identify signs and symptoms of social isolation.
- Describe how HIV-related health disparities magnify the effects of social isolation.
- Summarize lessons learned from the United Voices program.
- Identify strategies to improve and measure client engagement.
Social Isolation Screening and Outreach Tool
Social isolation is a significant concern for people living with HIV over 50 due to numerous physical, mental, and social barriers. This worksheet provides recommendations and evidence based practices to screen for social isolation and re-engage clients who may be out of care or falling out of care. Use or adapt each section as needed to best address the needs of your clients.
Managing Polypharmacy and Deprescribing
In our fourth learning collaborative, Kirsten Balano, PharmD AAHIVP, joins us to explain the concepts and importance of deprescribing for people living with HIV over 50. Learn more about deprescribing at https://deprescribing.org/
The learning objectives for this session included:
- Define polypharmacy and deprescribing.
- Identify how disparities in stigma, trust, and cost affect deprescribing.
- Describe the shared decision making process between patients and providers.
- Identify the roles of and resources available to different types of pharmacists.
Managing Polypharmacy and Deprescribing Tool
Polypharmacy, usually defined as taking five our more medications, is an increasing concern for people living with HIV over 50. Medications and their side effects become harder to manage as comorbidities start to develop. This tool provides a shared decision making framework, medication management resources, and information on medication insurance coverage.
Harm Reduction, Substance Use, and Conflict De-escalation
In our fifth learning collaborative, Radhika Sahai and Laura Guzman from the National Harm Reduction Coalition shared how to integrate equitable harm reduction principles in conflict de-escalation.
The learning objectives for this session were:
- Describe how intersecting experiences and trauma of long-term survivors affect conflict management.
- Explain different strategies to de-escalate conflict.
- Identify areas to apply trauma-informed de-escalation and conflict management in your own services.
Access the presentation slides at the links below:
Harm Reduction, Substance Use, and Conflict De-escalation Tools
Substance use and conflict de-escalation in people living with HIV over 50 require special considerations for screening and management. Harm reduction is one strategy to center the patient’s capacity and desire to manage their substance use. The resources below describe what harm reduction is, how to implement the principles in your work, and how to build trauma-informed services.
Provider Panel: Holistic Women’s Health
In this session, we brought together providers from BABES Network Seattle, Los Angeles Family AIDS Network, Christie’s Place, WORLD, and Dynamic Determined Divas. This panel discussed key topics for women living with HIV over 50 including caretaking, trauma-informed care, and creating supportive environments.
The learning objectives for this session included:
- Describe health disparities that affect women living with HIV over 50.
- Identify two challenges of engaging and retaining women in HIV and Aging services.
- Explain one best practice to engage and retain women in HIV and Aging services.
Women’s Health Resource Bank
Women living with HIV over 50 have a wide range of considerations when it comes to their wellbeing. Societal inequities can be addressed through culturally-responsive services that cater to women’s multi-dimensional experiences. The tool below provides a number of physical, mental, and behavioral health resources and references to better serve all women living with HIV over 50.
Later Life Planning: Overall Considerations and Legal Documents
During this webinar, we brought in Cheryl Johnson from UNLV’s Department of Social Work and Emily Heizen and Stephen Spano from AIDS Legal Referral Panel. We started with an overview of later life planning and a discussion on how experiences affect the planning process for people aging with HIV. We then did a deep dive into the legal aspects of later life planning such as trusts, wills, and provider’s orders for life sustaining treatment.
The Learning Objectives for this session included:
- Understand the importance of identifying client needs and support strategies.
- Summarize two considerations of later life planning.
- Distinguish the similarities and differences of legacy planning documents.
Later Life Planning Resources and Client Assessment
People living with HIV over 50 experience aging differently. They may have more physical health conditions, mental health considerations, experience frailty earlier, and have non-traditional support systems. The tool below includes an overview of resources and service locator tools. It also has a client assessment section to identify needs, strengths, and opportunities to plan for the future. We suggest using this tool electronically to easily modify and access the materials.
Supporting Community Mental Health
For this session we were joined by James Lee, Lesley Steinman, and Bradley Carlos to provide more insight on psychiatry and the community-based depression education and screening PEARLS program. James provided an explanation of what psychiatry is, how we can all provide mental health care, and how aging with HIV affects mental health. Lesley and Bradley then expanded on how the PEARLS program helps people improve their mood through problem solving and building joy through small actions. The learning objectives for this session included:
- Describe two ways aging with HIV impacts mental health.
- Compare the role of psychiatrists and primary care physicians in mental health care.
- Explain the goals of the PEARLS community-based depression education and screening program.
- Identify one component of the PEARLS program that can be implemented in your services.
Supporting Community Mental Health Resource Guide
As shown in our session, people living with HIV over 50 have diverse mental health needs. As providers it is also our job to modify our mental health support to meet client needs. Use the tool below to open the discussion around mental health, document client needs, create an action plan, and access more resources to develop your skills.
Supporting HIV+ Peers and Volunteers in the Workplace
Our final session for 2023 focused on building more intentional, inclusive, and supportive workplaces for people aging with HIV. We brought together Linda Scruggs (Ribbon Organizing Center), Jax Kelly (Let’s Kick ASS – Palm Springs), and Ron Schnese (The Center Las Vegas) to share their expertise on how to create intentional spaces, maintain boundaries, and promote the development of people aging with HIV. This session had the following learning objectives:
- Summarize one recruitment strategy to include people aging with HIV in the workplace.
- Understand how to maintain confidentiality and self-disclosure for colleagues living and aging with HIV.
- Describe how to maintain boundaries and resolve conflict in the workplace.
- Explain one method to support professional development of people aging with HIV in the workplace.
Supporting HIV+ Peers and Volunteers Resource Guide
Creating a more intentional, inclusive, supportive environment for people living and aging with HIV requires a change in your organizational practices and ultimately, your organizational culture. This resource guide helps your team assess how ready you are for change. Using our guide, you’ll be able to create your own customized change management plan, no matter where you are in the inclusion process. Click the buttons below to access the resource guide, we suggest using this guide on a computer for ease of organization.
Community Advisory Board Recommendations
Below are recommendations provided by our Community Advisory Board on a range of high-impact topics for people living with HIV over 50. Explore each set of recommendations to guide your services.
Community Partnership Recommendations
For our first convening, the community advisory board highly suggested the use of inter-organizational partnerships to increase service diversity and client reach. Click below for an in-depth look at desired outcomes for these partnerships.
Social Isolation, Medication Management, and Substance Use Recommendations
Our second convening focused on social isolation, medication management, and substance use in people living with HIV over 50. Click below to learn more about the challenges, solutions, and implementation opportunities for each service topic.