Providing the patients suffering from AIDS with the services that they need is an important task on the agenda of the New Jersey health authorities. However, due to the changes in the population demographics, a considerable change in the needs of the aforementioned patients has been noticed. Because of a considerable increase in the age of the HIV/AIDS New Jersey patients, the necessity to take the risks of cardiovascular diseases into account when choosing the type of treatment for the patients in question has emerged (HIV, AIDS cases rise sharply for N.J. senior citizens in recent years, 2010).
Speaking of the population demographics and the changes in it, one must mention that an increase in age, which was mentioned above, is beyond impressive in New Jersey. While previously, HIV/AIDS patients were under 30, nowadays, patients of 70 and older have been spotted (Joseph, Salami, & Odeigah, 2013). Moreover, the gender specifics of the target population have been altered considerably (HIV, AIDS cases rise sharply for N.J. senior citizens in recent years, 2010).
The aforementioned changes are most likely to have a major impact on the healthcare market, starting with the choice of the services, which will be provided to the target audience. Because of an increased risk in the cardiovascular diseases and the related disorders in the patients, it will be required to reconsider the medicine that is provided to the HIV/AIDS patients at present (Joseph, Salami & Odeigah, 2013). In addition, the general impact of the medicine on the immune system function will have to be considered.
As a result of the broadening of the target audience, a rapid drop in prices for the prescription medicine can be expected in the New Jersey healthcare market. Indeed, seeing how the amount of customers is going to increase, a drop in prices is the most reasonable phenomenon to expect. This, however, may cause a conflict between the cost price of the drug and its market price; for the industry to survive, the latter must remain higher than the former. Otherwise, the production of the medicine against HIV/AIDS may cease.
More to the point, older patients will also have to face a number of challenges in the process of retrieving the appropriate healthcare services. First and most obvious, accelerated aging will most likely be a major obstacle in taking the measures required to maintain a stable health status. The need for in-home medical care is another challenge; unlike younger victims of AIDS, older patients will not be able to visit the corresponding healthcare services frequently enough to retain their health status. As a result, the necessity for in-home care to be introduced emerges. Second, elderly patients are more exposed to the threat of fractures (Filho et al., 2013).
The Chronic Disease Wellness Program, which was introduced in 2006, may affect the costs for the HIV/AIDS medicine prices, though. Since older patients have emerged in New Jersey, the impact of cardiovascular diseases onto the pricing will have to be taken into account. As “Costs for cardiovascular disease in 2005 are estimated at $394 billion” (The Chronic Disease Wellness Program, 2005, p. 13) and have been growing ever since, according to the Chronic Disease Wellness Program, the costs for the service provided to the older HIV/AIDS patients are expected to rise.
Therefore, the marketing needs and the services needed for the older patients with HIV/AIDS are defined by the health issues that the people of the given age group have. It will be required to promote the medicine that does not have side effects affecting the patients’ heart or blood pressure. In addition, the methods of raising awareness regarding HIV/AIDS will have to include not only popular media, but also traditional one, which people of seventy years old and older people prefer to new forms of media (Philip-EphraimI, Gyuse, UdonwaII, PetersI, & AnyanechiI, 2010). To address the aforementioned challenges, the New Jersey community will have to integrate all possible types of media in order to raise awareness concerning the HIV/AIDS in older people, as well as increase funding for HIV/IDS related researches.
Reference List
Filho, A. di C., Fakoury, M. K., Eyer-Silva, W. de A., Neves-Motta, R., Kalil, R. S., & Ferry, F. R. de A. (2013). Factors associated with a diagnosis of major depression among HIV-infected elderly patients. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, 46(3), para. 1–15. Web.
HIV, AIDS cases rise sharply for N.J. senior citizens in recent years (2010). Web.
Joseph, A. A., Salami, A. K., & Odeigah, L. O. (2013). Geriatric human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection in Nigeria: A case‐series report. Journal of AIDS and HIV Research, 5(6), 214–223.
Philip-EphraimI, E. E., Gyuse, A. N. I., UdonwaII, N. E., PetersI, E. J., & AnyanechiI, C. C. (2010). Knowledge and perception of HIV prevention through condom use among midlife and older adults in Calabar, Nigeria.West Indian Medical Journal, 59(4), para. 1-20. Web.
The Chronic Disease Wellness Program. (2005). Web.