The perceived impact of an HIV cure by people living with HIV and key populations vulnerable to HIV in the Netherlands: A qualitative study

The experienced positive and negative influence of HIV on quality of life of people with HIV and vulnerable to HIV in the Netherlands

“…We hypothesize that new treatment and prevention options such as, long-acting ART or an HIV cure may further influence how HIV is experienced by PHIV and key populations 54 – 59 . Kerrigan et al 54 , 55 and Simoni et al 59 described that long-acting ART has the potential to remove the daily reminder of ART, and, in light of our findings, we hypothesize that this type of ART may help further improve the QoL of PHIV and key populations 6 . Ultimately, while new treatment and prevention options may change the experienced influence of HIV on the QoL 54 , 55 , 59 , only an HIV cure that would eliminate HIV from the body is believed to be the way to remove the multifaceted and predominant influence of HIV completely 6 .…”

“…Despite these improvements, there is a need for continued attention to the experienced influence of HIV on the quality of life (QoL) of people with HIV (PHIV) and key populations who are living without but vulnerable to HIV (e.g., men who have sex with men (MSM) and ethnic minorities). Evidence suggests that both groups currently continue to experience a multifaceted and predominant influence of HIV on their QoL 6 . This influence may have resulted in lower experienced QoL among PHIV and key populations compared to the general population 4 , 6 , 7 .…”

“…In the context of this study, key populations are people injecting drugs and MSM living without HIV. This study reports findings from the secondary analysis of data collected in a research project that explored the current influence of HIV on the QoL and perceptions towards an HIV cure 6 among PHIV and key populations in the Netherlands.…”

“…Evidence suggests that both groups currently continue to experience a multifaceted and predominant influence of HIV on their QoL 6 . This influence may have resulted in lower experienced QoL among PHIV and key populations compared to the general population 4,6,7 . Several studies demonstrated a predominant influence or burden of HIV and of ART on the QoL of PHIV and key populations in over 25 countries, including the Netherlands, the USA, and Australia 3,5,[7][8][9] .…”

“…Removing the multifaceted and predominant influence of HIV on the lives of PHIV and key populations is desired and strived for by clinicians, biomedical researchers, and patient organizations 6,[10][11][12][13] . Most research has focused on improving the clinical management of HIV (i.e., diagnosis, treatment, viral suppression etc.)…”