Determinants of Self Reported Health Related Quality of Life among People Living with HIV/AIDS Attending Clinic in a Tertiary Hospital in Sagamu, South-Western Nigeria

Background: Disability and health-related quality of life are becoming increasingly important issues associated with chronic illnesses including HIV disease.
Aims: This study was designed to assess the health related quality of life [HRQoL] among a sample of HIV patients and to identify the clinical and psychological variables that affect quality of life among HIV patients using the functioning and the impact of illness approach in a tertiary health care centre in Western Nigeria.
Place and Period of Study: The study was conducted in Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, South-west Nigeria. Data were collected over 4 weeks period between 12th January 2012 to 6thFebruary 2012.
Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study. All consenting PLWHAs who attended the ART clinic during the study period were recruited into the study. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect relevant information.
Result: A total of 205 PLWHAs were interviewed, the mean age of the PLWHAs studied was 31.26±5.38. The overall point prevalence of poor HRQoL among the PLWHAs in this study was 8.3%. A quarter25.9% of the respondents reported reduction in work performance since diagnosis of HIV,51.2%did not have any associated illness, 2.5% were too ill to work and participate in the daily activities while 82.9% of the respondents claimed that their HIV status did not affect their interaction with people. Malaria accounted for 43.9% of opportunistic illnesses, diarrhoea 5.4% and tuberculosis 2.9%. Poor HRQoL was statistically significantly associated with poor mental health status [X2=5.88, p=0.015], non utilization of psychosocial services [X2=5.67, p=0.017] and education [X2=0.65, p=0.022]. There was no statistically significant difference in the HRQoL among the respondents due to sex [X2=1.94, p=0.16], religion [X2=2.05, p=0.36] tribe [X2=0.66, p=0.72] disclosure of HIV/AIDS status [X2=1.15, p=0.28], adherence to antiretroviral drugs [X2=3.31, p=0.69] length of use of ART [X2=, 0.31, p=0.58] and occupation [X2=7.13, p=0.21]. The only predictor of poor HRQoL was poor mental health status among the PLHAs in Sagamu, Nigeria [OR=3.41, CI=1.02-11.48].
Conclusion: The study concludes that understanding the complex relationship between education, psychosocial support, mental health and quality of life might help to identify effective approaches to intervention to promote HIV care giving and its potential positive effects on the well-being of PLWHs thus eliminating the feelings of discrimination and inequalities among PLWHs.