TORONTO -- Despite being part of a population facing an increased risk for acquiring HIV, researchers say many middle-aged men who have sex with men (MSM) have exhibited considerable resilience against the virus since the start of the epidemic 40 years ago.

Researchers now seek to examine the different resources, personal strengths and protective factors among those who have tested positive for the virus and those who have not, in order to better inform public health policies in the future.

“It was important to conduct a study that would harness the vast knowledge that could be derived from the perspectives and lived experiences of middle-aged and older MSM, the population that has been impacted by HIV/AIDS the most in North America since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” collaborator scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Rainier Liboro said in an email to CTV News. “We also concluded that a strengths-based focus on their resilience to the clinical and social impacts of HIV/AIDS would be just the right research agenda to investigate.” Read more via CTV