Quality of Life and its Determinants among Filipino People Living with HIV/AIDS Enrolled in the Treatment Hub of a Tertiary Government Hospital

Abstract

Objective. To assess the quality of life (QoL) and its determinants among Filipino People Living with HIV (PLHIV).
 Methods. This is a cross-sectional analytical study. Adult Filipino PLHIV linked to the treatment hub of a tertiary government hospital in the Philippines were surveyed utilizing the WHOQOL-HIV BREF assessment tool. Other variables of interest were obtained from medical records. Linear regression analysis was applied.
 Results. A total of 341 HIV-seropositive patients were included. The median age was 32 years, and respondents were mostly male (93.55%). Majority had good general QoL (58.6%). Regression analysis showed that among the factors associated with good general QoL were: CD4 ≥ 200 cells/μL (p = 0.043), and ARV duration > 3 months (p = 0.022). Conversely, low education (p ≤ 0.001), poor treatment adherence (p ≤ 0.001), and presence of opportunistic infections (p ≤ 0.05) were associated with poor general QoL. Female sex (p = 0.025) and unemployment (p = 0.006) were associated with poor QoL in the environment and independence domains, respectively.
 Conclusion. Most Filipino PLHIV have good QoL across all domains. While several factors were associated with good QoL including higher CD4 count and being on ARV for more than 3 months, presence of opportunistic infections, poor treatment adherence and low education were associated with poor QoL among patients with HIV infection.