Low- and middle-income countries are home to 80% of older people with HIV (OPWH). Ukrainian OPWH experience higher mortality and decreased antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation than younger patients, but there is little data examining OPWH’s perspectives around new diagnosis and impact on care. In this study, we examined accounts of 30 newly diagnosed OPWH in Ukraine, exploring challenges faced in the peri-diagnosis period. Themes emerged representing the longitudinal coping process: OPWH (1) viewed themselves as low risk before diagnosis; (2) experienced HIV diagnosis as a traumatic event challenging their self-image; (3) used disclosure to seek support among a small circle of family, friends, or health care providers; (4) avoided disclosure to outsiders including primary care providers for fears of stigma and breaches in confidentiality; (5) viewed age as an asset; and (6) used HIV diagnosis as starting point for growth. These findings highlight the need for age-specific programming to increase HIV knowledge and coping, increase screening, and improve long-term planning.

低收入和中等收入国家是 80% 的艾滋病毒感染者 (OPWH) 老年人的家园。与年轻患者相比，乌克兰 OPWH 的死亡率更高，抗逆转录病毒治疗 (ART) 启动率降低，但几乎没有数据检验 OPWH 对新诊断和对护理的影响的观点。在这项研究中，我们检查了乌克兰 30 例新诊断的 OPWH 的账户，探讨了在诊断期间面临的挑战。出现了代表纵向应对过程的主题：OPWH (1) 在诊断前将自己视为低风险；(2) 将 HIV 诊断视为挑战自我形象的创伤性事件；(3) 利用披露来寻求一小群家人、朋友或医疗保健提供者的支持；(4) 避免向包括初级保健提供者在内的外人披露信息，以免受到污名和违反保密规定；(5) 视年龄为资产；（6）以HIV诊断为成长起点。这些发现强调了针对特定年龄的规划的必要性，以增加 HIV 知识和应对、增加筛查和改进长期规划。