Improvements in health-related quality of life following a group intervention for coping with AIDS-bereavement among HIV-infected men and women

Abstract

AIDS-related bereavement is a severe life stressor that may be particularly distressing to persons themselves infected with HIV. Increasing evidence suggests that psychological health is associated with disease progression, HIV-related symptoms, and mortality. This study assessed change in health-related quality of life among HIV + persons following a group intervention for coping with AIDS-related loss. The sample included 235 HIV + men and women of diverse ethnicities and sexual orientations who had experienced an AIDS-related loss within the previous 2 years. Participants were randomly assigned to a 12-week cognitive-behavioral bereavement coping group intervention or offered individual psychotherapy upon request. Quality of life was assessed at baseline and 2 weeks after the intervention. Participants in the group intervention demonstrated improvements in general health-related and HIV-specific quality of life, while those in the comparison remained the same or deteriorated. Effect sizes indicated that the majority of change occurred in women. This bereavement group aimed at improving coping with grief also had a positive impact on health-related quality of life among HIV + men and women, and suggests that cognitive-behavioral interventions may have a broad impact on both emotional and physical health.