Health related quality of life and its association with social support among people living with HIV/AIDS receiving antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are frequently confronted with severe social issues such as rejection, abandonment, criticism, and stigma. This would negatively affect their quality of life. Several studies have been conducted so far to assess factors affecting the health-related quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Ethiopia. However, to our knowledge, there is no previous study that has summarized the results of the studies that investigated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among PLWHA in Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to estimate the pooled prevalence of HRQOL and its association with social support among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) on ART in Ethiopia. Methods A systematic search was carried out using several electronic databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic), Google Scholar, Google, and a manual search of the literature on health-related quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS who are on ART. A Microsoft Excel data extraction sheet was used to extract pertinent data from an individual study. To assess the heterogeneity of primary articles, the Cochrane Q test statistics and the I2 test were carried out, and a random effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of HRQOL. Result Out of the 493 articles reviewed, ten with a total of 3257 study participants were eligible for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of HRQOL among people living with HIV/AIDS who are on antiretroviral therapy in Ethiopia was 45.27%. We found that strong perceived social support was significantly associated with higher levels of subjectively perceived HRQOL. PLWHA who were on ART and had good social support were four times more likely to report higher HRQOL when compared to their counterparts [AOR = 4.01, 95% CI 3.07–5.23]. Conclusion A substantial number of PLWHA had poor HRQOL in Ethiopia. Social support was significantly associated with HRQOL among people living with HIV/AIDS. Hence, it’s recommended to encourage suitable intervention at every follow-up visit, and psycho-social support is also warranted to improve the quality of life.

Health related quality of life of HIV-positive women on ART follow-up in north Shewa zone public hospitals, central Ethiopia: Evidence from a cross-sectional study

“…However, the level of poor HRQoL in this study was found to be consistent with the pooled prevalence of HRQoL among general HIV-positive people in Ethiopia (45.27%) [ 36 ]. Over time monitoring of HRQoL will support HIV care and treatment practices to settle auspicious outcomes [ 23 ].…”

Anemia is independently associated with mortality in people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome: A propensity score matching-based retrospective cohort study in China

“…Previous studies have reported that HIV infection-related health impairments, including opportunistic infections, tumors, and malnutrition will not only reduce the quality of life of PLWHA but are also be affected by factors such as sex, age, economic status, marital status, educational level, CD4 + T cell count, and viral load ( 19 – 21 ). Available evidence reveals that anemia is quite common in PLWHA and is significantly associated with an increased risk of premature death ( 22 ).…”

Evaluation of the health-related quality of life and associated factors in Zimbabwean adults living with HIV: A cross-sectional study

“…Social support is an essential buffer to stressful life events; it positively impacts an individual's physical and mental well-being, performance, creativity and competence and brings resilience when confronting stressful situations [36][37][38]. For example, an Ethiopian systematic review showed that PLHIV with good social support were four times more likely to report higher HRQoL when compared to those without (AOR = 4.01, 95% CI 3.07-5.23) [39]. Our ndings further a rm previous evidence on the intertwined relationship between social support, adherence to ART and improvement of the overall HRQoL for PLHIV [40][41][42][43].…”