Over one million people in the United States live with HIV, a viral infection that has become highly treatable. The life expectancy for people with HIV is near indistinguishable from the non-HIV population. However, data suggest that people with HIV experience a greater risk for physical frailty at an earlier age than the general population, making them particularly vulnerable to experiencing recurrent falls, fracture, disability, and death.
With funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Frailty Policy (FraPol) team has built a computer simulation model to evaluate and assess the burden of physical frailty. The model will also forecast the value of interventions that reduce the burden of physical frailty in people with HIV.
The FraPol team is led by Elena Losina, Ph.D. at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The team includes researchers from the Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Yale University.
For further information, please read our NIH grant abstract.