Quality of Life of People Living with HIV in Australia: The Role of Stigma, Social Disconnection and Mental Health

Abstract

HIV is a manageable chronic illness, due to advances in biomedical management. However, many people living with HIV (PLHIV) continue to experience psychosocial challenges, which have been associated with poorer quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to explore how psychosocial factors contributed to the QoL of PLHIV in Australia; specifically, the relationship between HIV-related stigma, social connectedness, mental health, and QoL. Participants were 122 PLHIV attending The Albion Centre (a tertiary HIV clinic in Sydney, Australia), who completed questionnaires which measured HIV-related stigma, social support, mental health symptomology and QoL. Results indicated that HIV-related stigma predicted poorer QoL, as did mental health symptomology. Conversely, social connectedness improved QoL. Additionally, social connectedness was found to mediate the relationship between HIV-related stigma and QoL, whereas the hypothesized moderating role of mental health symptomology on this model was not significant. These findings provide insight into the impact of psychosocial factors on QoL, offering practitioners various points of clinical intervention.

Quality of life among people living with HIV aged 50 years and over in Australia: Identifying opportunities to support better ageing

“…Almost two-thirds of participants reported recent feelings of isolation from the HIV community. Our findings of a significant association between this isolation and quality of life aligns with previous studies exploring the impact of improved connectedness within the HIV community on the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV, including fewer depressive symptoms, reduced loneliness, and a better quality of life [37,52,53]. Further, social connectedness among people living with HIV has been found to protect against the negative effects of stigma and discrimination [54,55].…”

“…This study used data from a cross-sectional survey of older people living with HIV in Australia to assess multidimensional quality of life and identify opportunities to guide the development and implementation of appropriate interventions. Our findings generally indicate that the people living with HIV aged ≥50 years in our study had a moderate quality of life, shown by their PozQol response, which is similar to the general population of people living with HIV in Australia [24,25,37]. However, one-third of participants in our sample were classified as having a low overall quality-of-life score, which is higher than other studies that used the PozQol score among the general population of people living with HIV, both in Australia and globally [24,[37][38][39].…”

“…This study used data from a cross‐sectional survey of older people living with HIV in Australia to assess multidimensional quality of life and identify opportunities to guide the development and implementation of appropriate interventions. Our findings generally indicate that the people living with HIV aged ≥50 years in our study had a moderate quality of life, shown by their PozQol response, which is similar to the general population of people living with HIV in Australia [24, 25, 37]. However, one‐third of participants in our sample were classified as having a low overall quality‐of‐life score, which is higher than other studies that used the PozQol score among the general population of people living with HIV, both in Australia and globally [24, 37–39].…”

How does a chronic wound change a patient's social life? A European survey on social support and social participation

“…Second, generic HRQoL was significantly, though weakly, correlated with social support from any source. This is comparable to previous studies in different chronic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and HIV 27,32 . In contrast, one study on elderly people living alone found negative correlations between social support and physical HRQoL 21 …”

“…This is comparable to previous studies in different chronic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and HIV. 27,32 In contrast, one study on elderly people living alone found negative correlations between social support and physical HRQoL. 21 As correlations do not allow for statements about causality, we can only make assumptions about the direction of causality between social support and HRQoL.…”