Abstract
Background: The introduction of Combined Antiretroviral Therapy (cART) shifted the perception of HIV/AIDS from a fatal to a potentially manageable chronic disease. As a result, patient-perceived health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is becoming an important outcome measure among HIV infected patients. We assessed the quality of life of admitted HIV/AIDS patients and the association of socio-demographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics of patients with health-related quality of life. Methods: Health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1 to May 31, 2018 in selected tertiary care hospitals of Ethiopia. HRQoL was measured at discharge using the interviewer-administered World Health Organization’s Quality of Life HIV short-form instrument (WHOQoL-HIV BREF). Data were entered into EpiData 3.2 and exported to SPSS version 21.0 for cleaning and analysis. Descriptive analytical results were reported in text and table. Logistic regression was conducted to identify predictors of poor quality of life. Variables with p-value ≤ 0.25 in bivariate regression were considered as a candidate for multivariable regression. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors. Regression coefficients and their 95% confidence intervals together with p-value < 0.05 were used to identify independent predictor of poor QoL. Results: Majority, 56 (58.9%) of the study participants, had poor general health-related quality of life. Being unemployed (AOR: 4.1, 95% CI; (1.23, 13.64); p=0.02), lack of support from family (AOR: 3.6, 95% CI: (1.05-12.6); p=0.04), and having co-morbidity (AOR: 4.2, 95% CI: (1.08, 16.65); p=0.039) were found to be independent predictors of poor quality of life. Conclusions: The study showed that the majority of the participants had poor health-related quality of life which was affected by unemployment, co-morbidity, and social support from family.
Highlights
The introduction of Combined Antiretroviral Therapy shifted the perception of HIV/AIDS from a fatal to a potentially manageable chronic disease
The study showed that the majority of the participants had poor health-related quality of life which was affected by unemployment, co-morbidity, and social support from family
Health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) admitted at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) and Jimma University Medical Center (JUMC) from April 1, to May 31, 2018
Summary
The introduction of Combined Antiretroviral Therapy (cART) shifted the perception of HIV/AIDS from a fatal to a potentially manageable chronic disease. Patient-perceived health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is becoming an important outcome measure among HIV infected patients. Since the start of the HIV epidemic, an estimated 77.3 million people have been infected and 35.4 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses, globally [1]. Sub-saharan African region covers 74% of HIV-related deaths [2]. The introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in the mid-1990s significantly declined HIV/AIDSrelated mortality. This shifted the perception of HIV/AIDS from a fatal to a manageable chronic disease [4].
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