Factors associated with the quality of life of people living with HIV in Finland

Abstract

In recent years, the concept of quality of life (QoL) has received significant attention in the HIV/AIDS literature. In Finland, however, the factors associated with the QoL of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) still remain unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the sociodemographic and HIV-related factors associated with the different domains of QoL of PLWHA in Finland. The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 453 HIV-infected patients (Mean age = 46.5 years; 76.5% male) followed at the Infectious Disease Clinic of Helsinki University Hospital. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire covering sociodemographic and HIV-related information, and the Finnish version of the WHOQOL-HIV-Bref questionnaire. Participants reported rather high scores in the six QoL domains, which ranged between 68.48 (Social relationships) and 78.05 (Environment) on a 0-100 scale. Multiple regression analyses revealed that male gender, being married or living in a partnered relationship, being employed, having fewer financial concerns, and not having depression and other medical comorbidities were the main factors positively and consistently associated with higher scores in the different domains of the QoL. HIV-related variables were not significantly associated with QoL ratings. Sociodemographic factors were independently associated with the QoL of PLWHA in Finland. Psychosocial support should reflect these factors in order to improve the health status and well-being of PLWHA.

HIV-Related Self-Stigma and Health-Related Quality of Life of People Living With HIV in Finland

“…To examine the associations between sociodemographic and HIV-related variables, self-stigma, and HRQoL, we hypothesized, in the light of previous knowledge (see Table 1) and plausible a priori assumptions, a path model with three endogenous variables (selfstigma, financial difficulties, HRQoL) and a set of exogenous sociodemographic variables. Financial difficulties were introduced as a third endogenous variable, given the evidence of the strong negative association of financial difficulties with QoL previously identified in this sample of PLWH (Nobre, Pereira, Roine, Sintonen, & Sutinen, 2017) and in other chronic conditions (Perrone et al, 2016;Torvinen et al, 2013). To estimate the path coefficients (standardized beta coefficients) for the path model, following the recommendations of Boker and McArdle (2014), three stepwise linear regression models were run, one for each endogenous variable, with the exogenous variables as potential explanatory variables plus financial difficulties for self-stigma, and self-stigma and financial difficulties for the 15D score.…”

Calidad de vida relacionada a la salud en personas con VIH y factores asociados

“…Otros dominios específicos han sido descritos más afectados entre mujeres: psicológico, bienestar físico, de espiritualidad, preocupación por la salud, preocupación por la divulgación y relacionamiento sexual (16,18,23,24) . Varios estudios encuentran que el ser mujer es un factor asociado independiente a peor score de CVRS (6,8,10,11,14,15,24) . Un mayor impacto del estigma, la salud mental (especialmente depresión) y la falta de soporte social entre mujeres respecto a los varones son factores que explicarían el impacto negativo del género en las puntuaciones de calidad de vida (12,22,24) .…”

“…Se describe menor score de CVRS asociado a menor nivel de escolaridad (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9) , depresión/ansiedad (3,6,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) , preocupación financiera, falta de soporte económico o social (6,9,10,11,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22) , presencia de síntomas (14,(21)(22)(23) , estigma o preocupación por la confidencialidad (12,17,23,24) , consumo de drogas y alcohol (4,5) , comorbilidades (4,5,25) , bajo nivel de confianza o pobre relacionamiento con el staff médico y menor accesibilidad al sistema de salud (11,17,25) .…”

“…En cuanto al género, predominantemente los estudios encuentran peor CVRS entre mujeres en los resultados globales o en algunos dominios de las escalas utilizadas (5)(6)(7)(8)10,11,(14)(15)(16)18,(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) . Mientras que el impacto de la orientación sexual, específicamente hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH), se muestra con resultados variables probablemente por influencia de los diferentes contextos culturales (5,30,31) .…”

“…Por el contrario, una amplia mayoría no establece asociación alguna (10,11,13,15,23) . Los hallazgos respecto al uso de TARV también difieren.…”