IV/AIDS the Elderly: by CharlesA. Emlet, MSW, LCSW, BCD ‘$!ince the early 1980s, the health care system has struggled to meet the needs of in- “~ividuals diagn osed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired im- &a knune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Originally perceived as a disease exclusive to ‘*“‘:“’ homosexual men, society has begun to realize that HIV/AIDS affects society as a whole, including the heterosexual male population, women, and children. Still, HIV/AIDS in the United States generally is regarded as a young person’s disease, particularly affecting those in young adulthood and early middle age.’ A review of AIDS data however, suggests something different. APRIL 1997, VOL. 2 NO. 2 HOME CARE PROVIDER 69