Health-related quality of life and coping strategies among people living with HIV: the moderating role of gender

Marcin Rzeszutek

doi:10.1007/s00737-017-0801-2

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore gender differences in the level of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and coping strategies among people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH). In particular, the moderating role of participants’ gender on the relationship between coping strategies and HRQoL was explored, while controlling for socio-medical data. A total of 444 HIV-infected men and 86 HIV-infected women were recruited to participate in the study. This was a cross-sectional study with the HRQoL assessed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and the coping strategies measured by the Brief COPE inventory. Although the HIV-infected men and HIV-infected women differed in terms of some HRQoL domains, these differences disappeared in the regression analysis after controlling for socio-demographic data (employment and higher education). In addition, several statistically significant interactions between participants’ gender and coping strategies in relation to HRQoL domains were observed. Future research on gender differences in HRQoL among PLWH should take into account unique differences between HIV-infected men and HIV-infected women across, not only in respect to socio-medical factors but also regarding psychosocial variables.

Highlights

The aim of the study was to explore gender differences in the level of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and coping strategies among people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH)
Significant advances in the knowledge about and treatment of HIV infection has changed the nature of HIV/AIDS from a terminal disease to a chronic illness and has given people living with HIV (PLWH) new hope for increased life expectancy (Deeks et al 2013; Samji et al 2013)
The first block was devoted to the selection using stepwise method of socio-medical variables that were significantly related to HRQoL domains, and, should be controlled

Summary

Introduction

The aim of the study was to explore gender differences in the level of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and coping strategies among people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH). Other authors noticed significant gender differences in clinical outcomes, i.e., HIVinfected women reported higher CD4 count, lower viral load, and better adherence to treatment compared to HIV-infected men (Collazos et al 2007; Nicastri et al 2007). The nature of gender differences in HRQoL is complex, but, according to the newest studies, these differences may depend to a greater extent on socio-demographic or psychosocial factors rather than on the objective health status (Degroote et al 2014; Vo et al 2016) One of these important psychosocial factors is coping with HIV infection (Gore-Felton et al 2002; Vosvick et al 2010). What remains especially unclear are gender differences in coping effectiveness, i.e., whether and how specific coping strategies may be related to selected aspects of physical, psychological, and social functioning separately among HIV-infected men and HIV-infected women

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Conclusion