Juhi Singh

Assessment of quality of Life of HIV-Positive People on Antiretroviral Therapy

Background: HIV/AIDS has adverse impact not only on physical but also mental, social, and financial aspects of the infected individual. Quality of life (QOL) among these individuals is therefore becoming crucial for measuring commonly used endpoints. Objective: To study the quality of life (QOL) of HIV-positive people on antiretroviral therapy. Material and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 adult HIV-positive patients at two tertiary care hospitals of Lucknow. Systematic random sampling was used to recruit patients. Quality of Life was assessed using WHOQOL-BREF scale. Results: Mean age of the PLHAs was 39.08±9.72 and majority (73.0%) of the study participants were male. QOL score were highest for physical health domain (10.45±1.35) followed by psychological domain (9.38±1.33), environmental domain (8.73±1.11) and social relationship domain (8.05±1.90) respectively. A significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in mean score for social relationship domain with subjects counselled within the last three months and those who were adherent to the treatment had a higher mean score of QOL mean score. Conclusions: The present study revealed intermediate level scores for quality of life for PLHAs. Therefore for improving each and every facet of quality of life all the psychological, emotional and medical needs should be properly addressed through combined efforts by health care providers as well as the community.