In 2001, ACRIA launched a new behavioral research program in an effort to improve understanding of who is living with HIV, what their psychosocial needs are, and how we can most effectively support them in living longer, healthier lives.

ACRIA’s research program has focused on the largely ignored “graying” of the epidemic.  Early studies included examinations of social support networks and cognitive function in older adults with HIV.  In 2006, ACRIA released its groundbreaking Research on Older Adults with HIV (ROAH) study.  ROAH assesses a 1,000-person cohort in New York City, examining a comprehensive array of issues, including health status, stigma, depression, social networks, spirituality, sexual behavior, and substance abuse.  This first-in-the-nation effort—along with ongoing studies, such as an investigation of depression interventions targeting older adults—has cemented ACRIA’s reputation as the preeminent authority and resource on the fast-growing population of people over fifty living with HIV. 

In fact, in a story on page A1 of the Sunday New York Times of January 6, 2008, the newspaper of record said of ROAH, “The most comprehensive research has come from the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America….”

ACRIA’s research has been published in leading journals and featured in workshops and symposia at conferences including the International Conferences on AIDS in Toronto and Bangkok, the U.S. Conference on AIDS in Palm Springs, and meetings of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Psychological Association.  ROAH will be published as a book in late 2008.  These research efforts led to the launch in 2008 of ACRIA’s Center on HIV & Aging.

For additional information, please contact Stephen Karpiak, PhD, at SKarpiak@acria.org or on (212) 924-3934, ext. 109, or Mark Brennan, PhD, at MBrennan@acria.org or on (212) 924-3934, ext. 131.