Abstract
Background Attaining a good quality of life (QOL) is a priority for people living with HIV (PLHIV). We explored the interaction between QOL and the associated demographic, behavioural and clinical factors for PLHIV attending an outer-metropolitan clinical setting in Western Sydney, Australia. The clinic’s cohort of PLHIV is characterised by relatively high proportions of women, heterosexual men, and patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Methods We assessed QOL using the PozQol tool that is specifically designed for PLHIV. QOL scores and de-identified socio-demographic and clinical data were extracted from the electronic and paper medical records of PLHIV who completed a PozQol tool (September 2020–March 2022). We performed descriptive analyses and logistic regression to identify associations. Results Among 188 patients, there were 77.7% men, 21.3% women, 1.1% transwomen; 67.0% were born overseas, 85.1% spoke English, 84.4% were Medicare-eligible, 85.9% were employed, 58.5% were diagnosed with HIV 6–20 years ago, and 33.0% within the past 5 years. Overall, 58.0% had a high or very high QOL. A low score in any domain was associated with Medicare-ineligibility. Low QOL scores in specific domains were associated with the following factors: health (being born overseas, having partners of both sexes), psychological (unemployment, having a mental health condition, having a viral load >20 copies/mL), social (unemployment), and functional (Medicare-eligibility, unemployment, having a viral load >20 copies/mL). Conclusions The PozQol tool has enhanced understanding of factors impacting on QOL for PLHIV attending our service in Western Sydney. Identifying patients with low QOL scores allows targeted clinical interventions to improve QOL, and re-alignment of clinical services to better support PLHIV.
Reference25 articles.
1. UNAIDS. 90-90-90: an ambitious treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Available at [cited 4 September 2022]
2. Kirby Institute. HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia: annual surveillance report 2021. Sydney: Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; 2022.
3. Quality of life of people living with HIV and AIDS and antiretroviral therapy.;HIV AIDS,2012
4. Impact of HIV-related stigma on treatment adherence: systematic review and meta-synthesis.;J Int AIDS Soc,2013
5. Health-related quality-of-life of people with HIV in the era of combination antiretroviral treatment: a cross-sectional comparison with the general population.;Lancet HIV,2014