Level Of Independence Domains Research Articles

Time Perspective and Quality of Life in Persons Living with HIV in the Brazilian Context

Background: Time perspective can be an important variable for the understanding the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS. Aims: The objective was to examine the relation between quality of life and time perspective among persons living with HIV receiving care from public health services in Brazil. Methods: Data were collected at four public health services in Brazil. Hierarchical regression analyses were then performed for each of six quality of life domains. Results: The subscales associated with high quality of life in physical and level of independence domains were low past-negative and high future orientation; psychological and environmental domains were low past-negative, high past-positive and high future orientations; social relations domain were high past-positive and high future orientations; and spirituality, religion and personal beliefs domain was low past-negative orientation. Conclusion: The hypothesis that time constructs have implications for the experience of the disease and for evaluation of quality of life was proven determined by positive orientations like future and past-positive and past-negative orientation.

Position of sport in subjective quality of life of deaf people with different sport participation level

Abstract The objective of the present study was to analyse the position of sport as a quality of the life domain (QOLD) in subjective quality of life (S-QOL) in deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) people with different sport participation level. Three groups of D/HH people (n=164) were recruited for the study: elite and competitive athletes (ECA; n=30; mean age 22.2±1.8 years), recreational athletes (RA; n=22; mean age 25.2±2.0 years) and non-athletes (NA; n=112; mean age 26.8±1.9 years). D/HH ECA are the most satisfied in their lives equally with their sport participation, social relations, physical health and the level of independence together with general health. D/HH RA reported the highest satisfaction with sport participation, social relations and with physical health and the level of independence. Position of sport is in ECA and RA lives is the priority number one as well as the satisfaction with other QOLDs as social relations, physical health and level of independence. The position of sport participation in D/HH NA among the QOLDs was interestingly in the second place in the order together with physical health and level of independence domain. Inclusive participation in sport from the earliest age of D/HH children together with able-bodied peers should help better understand mutual communication. Than D/HH people would remain in regular sport participation in later life and so S-QOL among D/HH minority population would be significantly increased.

Comparative analysis of quality of life of HIV positive support group and non-support group members in a tertiary hospital in Anambra State, Nigeria

Background: Peer support as a component of chronic disease management strategy is fast gaining prominence especially in resource poor settings. It is apt to X-ray the effects if any, of support group memberships on the quality of life (QoL) of HIV positive clients in our clime. This study aims to determine and compare the QoL of HIV positive support group and non-support group members in a tertiary hospital in Anambra state, Nigeria.Methods: This was an institution based comparative study of 482 HIV positive clients selected using a two-stage sampling. Data were collected by interview using WHOQOLHIV-Bref and semi-structured questionnaire, while data were analysed with statistical package for social sciences version 22.0. Chi square, Pearson chi square and t-test were applied as appropriate to determine statistically significant associations between variables. Level of statistical significance was set at p value of <0.05.Results: Differences between the two comparison groups include: duration of HAART treatment (p=0.003), in the physical domain (p=0.043), psychological domain (p≤0.001), and the level of independence domain (p≤0.001). More of support group members had good QoL in the physical domain (p=0.04,), psychological domain (p=0.001), level of independence domain (p≤0.001) and reported satisfaction with their perceived health status (p=0.000). Clients who were members of support group and those that reported high level of satisfaction with their perceived health status in most domains had higher QoL scores.Conclusions: We recommend continued counselling and health education on the effect of participation in support group and positive perception cum positive living on QoL.

Evaluation of Physically-Disabled Fighters’ Quality of Life at Rehabilitation Military Center in Al-Basra City

Objective(s): The aim of the study is to evaluate the physically- disabled fighters’ quality of life, and toidentify the relationship between the physically-disabled fighters’ quality of life and their socio-demographiccharacteristics.Method: A quasi-experimental design is carried throughout the present study at the Rehabilitation MilitaryCenter in Al-Basra City, Iraq,for the period of January 7th 2019 to October 31st 2019. Non-probability“purposive” sample of (27) physically disabled fighters’ is selected selected for the present study. Thequestionnaire is composed of two main parts (The Physically Disabled Socio-Demographic Characteristics,and Physically Disabled Fighters’ Quality of Life Evaluation Tool).The data are collected through theutilization of a developed questionnaire (Arabic version) and the use of structured interview techniquewith each physically disabled fighter as means of data collection. Test-retest reliability of instrumentwas determined through the use of Pearson correlation coefficient and content validity of the instrumentvalidity was determined through a panel of (18) experts. Data were analyzed through the use of descriptivestatistical data analysis approach of frequency, percentage, mean, mean of scores, total of scores, rangeand standard deviation and inferential statistical data analysis approach T-test, multiple linear regressions,person correlation coefficient,Chi-Square test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA).Results: The results of the study depict that the evaluation of physically-disabled fighters’ quality of lifeismoderate on the physical health domain,psychological health domain, and social relationship domainenvironment domain and spiritual health domain, and low on the level of independence domain; physicallydisabled fighters’ quality of life is significantly different relative to their age, residency, level of education,and chronic illness.Conclusion: The study concluded that the overall evaluation of physically-disabled fighters’ quality of lifeis moderate.

Quality of life of the HIV patients in Agra: a cross sectional study

Background: With antiretroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) coming into picture, quality of life (QOL) has gained importance. Knowledge on the factors affecting QOL would be helpful in making important policy decisions and health care interventions. The aim of this study is to assess the quality of life of people living with HIV and to identify the factors influencing their QOL.Methods: The Cross-sectional study was done among 160 HIV patients registered with ART Centre, at SNMC Agra (UP), India. QOL was assessed using HIV specific WHOQOLHIV-BREF questionnaire which has six domains. Association were find out by using chi square test for categorical variables and ANOVA were used for comparisons means scores among continuous variables. Correlation between continuous quantitative variables was found out by Pearson correlation coefficient.Results: Mean age of the study subjects was 37.89 years and 61.2% of the participants were males. Quality of life score was highest in level of independence domain (12.79±2.28) and lowest in SRPB domain (10.51±3.63). A significant negative correlation (-0.49) was observed between age and physical domain. Male Subjects had significant better mean score in social and environmental domain. Family support associated with social relationship and psychological domain. Higher CD4 count is associated with better in psychological and SRPB domain. Younger age, female gender, rural background, shorter duration of HIV, non-intake of ART were the high risk factors of poor QOL.Conclusions: Interventions such as ART, family, vocational and peer counselling would address these modifiable factors influencing QOL, thereby improving the QOL of PLWH.

Toward an understanding of the quality of life construct: Validity and reliability of the WHOQOL-Bref in a psychiatric sample

This study tested the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-Bref by examining its construct validity, predictive validity and reliability in a psychiatric sample. The sample consisted of 403 participants recruited from mental health care facilities. Construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item-domains correlations. Predictive validity was evaluated via multiple regressions. Internal consistency was analyzed by using Cronbach's alpha. Results from CFA second-order hierarchical model and item-domain correlational analyses supported the construct validity of the WHOQOL-Bref. A 5-domain model (psychological, physical, social relationships, environment and level of independence) demonstrated good-fit and adequate internal consistency. Multiple regression analyses of the domains with overall quality of life (QOL), general health and general QOL were supportive of predictive validity. This study found support for the multidimensionality of the WHOQOL-Bref which demonstrated appropriate properties for the assessment of QOL in psychiatric inpatients and outpatients. Thus, a valuable tool to be incorporated as part of the routine clinical evaluation, monitoring and an important indicator of treatment outcome and research. Our findings suggest a conceptual distinction between the physical domain and level of independence domain in this short version of the WHOQOL, as proposed by the WHOQOL-100.

English

This study aims to examine psychometric properties of Moore version of World Health Organization's Quality of Life assessment short instrument in HIV patients (WHOQOL HIV-BREF). A study was conducted on 100 persons living with human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's α. For the convergent validity of the Moore version WHOQOL-HIV BREF, the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) was used as a comparison instrument and cross-product correlations were calculated. The test-retest reliability was assessed using the interclass correlation coefficient. The study showed high internal consistency with Cronbach's α at 0.92 for the whole instrument. According to domains, Cronbach's α found ranged from 0.58 to 0.87, showing acceptable internal consistency for all domains. Domains scores for test-retest reliability, using interclass correlation gave coefficients ranged from 0.40 (spiritual domain) to 0.99 (level of independence domain) with p < 0.001 for all domains except for spirituality domain (p < 0.05). The study showed significant correlation between general facets and quality of life score (p < 0.001), as wheel as WHOQOL HIV-BREF and satisfaction with life scale (p < 0.01) except for spirituality domain. The instrument demonstrated good discriminative properties according to clinical stages of HIV infection with higher scores for asymptomatic HIV patients and lower scores at AIDS stage (p<0.001), except for spirituality domain (p > 0.05). As a demonstrated cross-cultural instrument, the WHOQOL HIV-BREF in its Moore version can be used for quality of life assessment in a routine way or longitudinal studies in Burkina Faso with persons living with HIV/AIDS.   Key words: Quality of life, WHOQOL HIV-BREF, Burkina Faso, moore, psychometrics.

Assessment of Spinal Cord Injured Persons, Quality of Life

AbstractSpinal cord injuries are a global health problem, which strikes millions of people worldwide, and causing either a lifetime severs disability or death. Objectives To assess spinal cord injured persons quality of life. Methodology A descriptive quantitative study is carried out at Ibn AL-Kuff Hospital for spinal cord injuries, started from December 20th, 2009 to July 20th, 2010. A non-probability (Purposive sample) of (100) spinal cord injured persons, who were clients of Ibn AL-Kuff hospital for spinal cord injuries/ outpatient clinic after at least 6 months after their discharged from the hospital for medical follow-up and rehabilitation, within 16 years old or more. The data are collected through the use of semi-constructed questionnaire, which consists of three parts (1) Socio-demographic data form that consist 9-items (2) clinical characteristics form that consist of 10-items and (3) Main domains of the quality of life, which consist of six main domains: physical, psychological, level of independence, social, environmental, and spiritual domain, by means of direct interview technique with the spinal cord injured persons. Reliability of the questionnaire is determined through a pilot study and the validity through a panel of (15) experts. The data were described statistically and analyzed through use of the descriptive and inferential statistical analysis procedures. Results The findings of the present study indicate that the spinal cord injury affect the quality of life domains. The maximal affect presented by the social domain, followed by the level of independence domain, the psychological domain, then the physical domain. While the minimal effect, presented by spiritual domain, followed by the environmental domain. There is a significant relationship between gender, age, marital status after injury, level of education, occupational status after the injury, levels of injury, types of injury, duration of injury, associated diseases, follow-up and physiotherapist visits, use of assistive aids, and the possible complications after injury and quality of life domains. There is a non-significant relationship between residence, marital status before injury, occupational status before injury, socio-economic status, and causes of injury and quality of life domains.Conclusion The study concludes that the spinal cord injury most common occurs among persons in urban residential area than in those in rural. Spinal cord injury most occurs in male than in females. Spinal cord injury does not affect the continuity of the person's marital relationships. Also the study confirmed that the spinal cord injury affects negatively on the continuity of the persons jobs. In addition, the study indicates that the external trauma is the most common cause of the spinal cord injury. Moreover, paraplegic injury is the most common level in spinal cord injuries than tetraplegics injury. Also the incomplete injury is the most common type of spinal cord injuries. And, the spinal cord injury associated with many complications involves all the body systems.  Recommendations The study recommends that an intensive comprehensive wide population-based studies be conducted to assess the spinal cord injured persons, quality of life. Also, an intensive comprehensive wide population-based education programs be conducted to support the nurses' knowledge and practice toward spinal cord injury management and rehabilitation. And health oriented mass media approach should be employed by the Ministry of Health to increase population knowledge and awareness of spinal cord injury. Health oriented mass media approach should be employed by the Ministry of Health to increase population knowledge and awareness of spinal cord injury.Key wards: assessment, spinal cord injuries, quality of life

Subjective perception of health in elderly inpatients

There is evidence that subjective health is an important variable in general health outcomes. It can be an indicator of the individual's overall health status, creating a reliable and valid estimate about health. Quality of life (QoL) assessment can be associated with the individuals' subjective assessment of their own health status. The aim of the present study was to investigate variables associated with subjective perception of health in older inpatients. Ninety elderly inpatients over 60 years old were interviewed. The perception of health assessment (healthy/unhealthy) allocated elders in either of two groups. All the elders answered sociodemographic questions, the WHOQOL-100 and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Comparing the group that considered themselves unhealthy to the other group, the former showed a tendency of worse QoL assessments in five out of six domains investigated. Significant differences were found for the physical and level of independence domains, as well as overall QoL. There was a significant association between health perception and lower intensity of depressive symptoms, as well as better QoL perception in the level of independence domain. This study shows the existence of an association between depressive symptoms and health assessment. It also suggests that the independence dimension is important in the elders' perception of their health status. These findings can help identify cause-effect relations between variables in aging studies involving health indicators and bring new intervention proposals for the elderly.

Quality of life and related factors among people living with HIV in China

xiaoyan x & sato mk (2011) Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness 3, 513–520 Quality of life and related factors among people living with HIV in China Aim. Aim of the study is to assess quality of life and its influencing factors among people living with HIV. Background. The Ministry of Health of People’s Republic of China (Joint united nations programme on HIV/AIDS world health organization, 2006) reported that 650 000 people were estimated to be living with HIV in China and among them 75 000 people were living with AIDS, and five provinces, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Hebei, and Shanxi accounted for 80·4% of infected individuals within this population. Maximising quality of life in people living with HIV/AIDS has become an important objective of care, and understanding the factors that impact quality of life would help achieve this objective. Methods. A cross-sectional study based on a convenient sample was used. The sample consisted of 94 HIV-positive people in Hubei province, age range 21–67 years (M = 42·68, SD = 8·88). Quality of life was measured using the WHOQOL HIV-BREF which was developed by WHO group. Date were collected between December 2008–June 2009. Results. People living with HIV had best quality of life in level of dependence domain (13·44) and poorest quality of life in social relationships domain (11·75). They were most satisfactory with family social support (22·37), followed by perceived social support from significant others (18·69) and least satisfactory with social support from friends (12·19). Quality of life was statistically related to gender, CD4 counts and perceived social support. Women had lower quality of life scores in the psychological (p = 0·028) and spiritual (p = 0·009) domain than men. Patients with CD4 counts <200 cells/mm3 had poorer quality of life in physical (p = 0·023) and level of independence domain (p = 0·039) compared to those with CD4 counts >500 cells/mm3. Perceived social support from family (r = 0·28, p < 0·01), from friends (r = 0·36, p < 0·001) and from significant others (r = 0·28, p < 0·01) was positively associated with quality of life. Implications for clinical practice. Perceived social support was significantly related to quality of life in our study, and this suggests that strengthening social support of HIV-positive people is necessary. As their major support was from family members, a family-focused intervention may be useful, for example, to educate family members to improve their HIV-related knowledge and informational support. Conclusion. This study suggests that the health workers should pay more attention to women living with HIV. Strengthening social support of HIV-positive people is also necessary.

Gender and Age Differences in Quality of Life and the Impact of Psychopathological Symptoms Among HIV-Infected Patients

The purpose of this study was to determine gender and age differences and interaction effects on the quality of life (QoL) domains in a sample of Portuguese HIV-positive patients, and to examine to what degree psychopathological symptoms are associated with QoL in addition to sociodemographic and clinical variables. The sample consisted of 1191 HIV-positive patients, and measures included the WHOQOL-HIV-Bref and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Controlling for clinical status, there was a significant effect of gender on QoL. Women reported lower scores of Psychological and Spirituality QoL. Younger patients reported higher scores on Physical and Level of Independence domains. Age by gender interactions emerged on all domains of QoL except on the Level of Independence domain. Overall, women over 45 years old showed lower QoL scores. Psychopathological symptoms contributed significantly to the variance of all QoL domains. Gender differences in the association of HIV infection with QoL and psychopathological symptoms seemed to be modulated by age. Understanding gender and age differences (and their interaction) may provide potentially useful information for planning interventions to improve QoL and mental health among people infected with HIV/AIDS, especially among older women.

Quality Of Life Of People Living With Hiv/Aids In Kogi State, Nigeria

Introduction: With the appreciable rise in longevity of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), the need for supporting their quality of life (QoL) has become increasingly important. However, limited studies have been conducted using the World Health Organization quality of life HIV (WHOQOL-HIV) bref in our environment. Objective: This study assessed the QoL of PLWHA attending antiretroviral (ARV) clinics in Kogi State in north central Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive crosssectional study design was used. Two hundred fifty-two PLWHA from five health care centres located across the three zones of Kogi State in Nigeria were consecutively selected. A questionnaire, administered at interview and containing data on sociodemographic, medical, and the WHOQOL-HIV bref was used to assess each study participant. Results: The overall QoL mean scores in the three domains were similar: psychological health, 15.0±2.8; physical health, 15.2±2.5; and spirituality/religion/personal beliefs, 15.7± 3.4. Lower QoL mean scores were observed in social relationships (13.2±2.5) and environment (13.1±1.9) domains. A significant difference in mean QoL scores in the level of independence domain was observed among women (14.4±1.9) compared to men (13.9±1.7; p=0.028). Conclusions: Lower QoL in the environment and social relationships domains may be suggestive of stigma and discrimination, as well as poor living conditions, in the PLWHA physical environment. Key words: Quality of life, PLWHA, HIV, AIDS, WHOQOL-HIV bref.

Psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 questionnaire in the middle-aged Lithuanian population of Kaunas city

This study aimed to identify psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 questionnaire. A random sample of 1403 Kaunas city men and women aged 35-64 years was examined in 2001-2002. Quality of life was assessed by the self-administered World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 questionnaire. Scores of all domains and facets of the questionnaire were transformed to reflect a scale from 0 to 100. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficients and by Cronbach's alpha. The relationship between the WHOQOL-100 domains and the two general items (G1 and G4) was assessed using linear regression analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to explore the factor structure of the data. The mean scores of the World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 questionnaire domains ranged from 51.3+/-15.1 (overall quality of life) to 72.0+/-16.4 (level of independence domain). The instrument displayed acceptable Cronbach's alpha (0.77-0.91) and test-retest reliability (0.64-0.89). The overall assessment of quality of life (G1) was most strongly associated with the environment (beta=0.31), psychological (beta=0.18), and social relationships (beta=0.17) domains. Overall health (G4) showed the strongest association with the level of independence (beta=0.34) and physical (beta=0.18) domains. The principal component analysis revealed five-factor solution, which accounted for 57.7% of a total variance. In the Lithuanian population, the World Health Organization Quality of Life 100 questionnaire was found to be a suitable instrument for evaluating quality of life.

The predictors of health care seeking behavior in obsessive-compulsive disorder

A majority of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not seek health care. To better understand why not, health care-seekers (HCS) with OCD (n = 25) were compared with non—health care-seekers (NHCS) with OCD (n = 23) regarding their sociodemographic variables, symptom severity, types of obsessions and compulsions, insight degree, comorbid diagnosis, and quality-of-life (QOL) level. There was no significant difference for sociodemographic characteristics between the groups. NHCS scored significantly lower on a measure of illness severity than HCS. The NHCS group had significantly poorer insight degree than the HCS group. Aggressive and religious obsessions were significantly less identified in the NHCS group compared to the HCS group. NHCS were significantly less likely to have comorbid diagnosis than HCS. The NHCS group reported significantly worse levels of QOL in psychological health and level of independence domains. To identify the predictors of health care seeking behavior, probable variables were entered in a logistic regression model. Insight degree and level of independence emerged as the predictors of health care seeking. Our results suggest that health care seeking behavior in OCD is associated with the individuals’ ability to recognize their symptoms as a disorder and subjective interpretation regarding the impact of OCD on their level of independence. Results of the present study extend findings of two recent studies that have investigated factors related to health care seeking in OCD.

Quality of Life People Living with HIV/AIDS and Its Characteristic from a VCT Centre in Indonesia.

The quality of life (QoL) construct has also contributed to understanding the comprehension of factors involved in the existence of people infected by the HIV/AIDS. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of life (QoL) of people with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Wonogiri District, Indonesia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2017. Convenience sampling method was employed to recruit 39 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) at Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) of Wonogiri, Indonesia. Research data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire of WHOQOL-HIV BREF. The data were further analysed using a t-test and a Chi-square test, while linear regression was used to evaluate factors that correlate with the PLWHAs' quality of life. The results showed that the gross mean score of social relationships domain is 13.59; psychological domain is 13.31; environment domain is 13.28; spiritual/personal beliefs domainis 13.15; physical domain is 13.10; and level of independence domain is 13.77. The symptom of HIV is associated with quality of life (B = 7.611, β = 0.362, t = 2,046, p value = 0.049). Healthcare provider should increase providerinitiated testing and counselling (PITC) to contracting group, high risk group, susceptible group, and the community. The PLWHA are recommended to actively participate in peer support groups (PSGs) so that they can improve their quality of life.

Health related quality of life among the people living with HIV

Identifying the level of health related quality of life (HQoL) and their influencing factors in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive people is of extreme importance in implementing an interventional program to support this group. This cross sectional study was an attempt to determine the level and factors associated with HQoL among the people living with HIV. A convenient sample of 82 HIV-infected people from three NGOs and one Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), were interviewed using an interviewer administered, semi structured questionnaire developed by adopting the "WHOQOL-HIV BREF instrument". A majority of the respondents were with low Quality of Life (QoL) in all the domains of HQoL. The proportion of respondents with low QoL was highest in the domain of social relationship (64.6%) followed by psychological domain (59.8%), physical domain (58.5%), level of independence domain (56.1%), environmental domain (52.4%) and spirituality domain (52.4%) of HQoL. Bivariate analysis revealed that the overall perception of QoL was better in the respondents living in urban area, who were employed and asymptomatic of the centre for disease control (CDC) stage of HIV. The perception of overall health was higher in females, all respondents less than 35 years of age, asymptomatic of the CDC stage of disease and with a current CD4 count greater than 200 cell/mm3. These findings highlight the need for enhanced socio-psychosocial support and a better environment for improving the health related quality of life among people living with HIV.