Quality of life of people living with HIV.

HIV infection is a global growing pandemic, and it is considered a public health problem. Treatment advances improved survival rates for HIV-infected individuals, although not always with a good quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to assess the QoL of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the city of São José, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was performed involving a convenience sample of 85 individuals. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect sociodemographic information, treatment length and period of infection. The WHOQoL-HIV-Bref instrument was used to assess QoL. The collected data were first described in proportions, means, median and percentiles. Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to test association between the perception of poor QoL taking the first quartile of the distribution of values with gender, age, education level, marital status, period of diagnosis, infection status, self-rated health status and believing to be ill or not. The p values were established at <0.05. The found mean score of WHOQoL-HIV-Bref was 14.1 (SD = 2.9). Lower education level (p=0.011) and believing to be ill (p<0.001) were associated with poor QoL. Also lower education level was associated with poor QoL in the psychological (p=0.020) and environment (p=0.047) domains; being diagnosed with HIV infection within the past five years (p=0.029) was found to be associated with poor QoL in the social relationships domain; and believing to be ill was associated with all domains (physical: p<0.001; psychological: p=0.022; level of independence: p=0.009; social relationships: p=0.009; environment: p=0.005; and spirituality/religion/personal beliefs: p=0.021). It could be concluded that in general, PLHIV have a good QoL. A poor QoL was associated mainly with lower education level and when they believe to be ill.

Perfil demográfico e socioeconômico dos portadores de HIV/AIDS do Ambulatório de Controle de DST/AIDS de São José, SC / Socioeconomic and demographic profile of patients With HIV/ AIDS of Ambulatório de DST/AIDS of São José, SC

Introdução: A ampla disseminação e o rápido avanço demonstram que a epidemia de HIV/AIDS atinge indivíduos de diferentes faixas etárias e níveis socioeconômicos. Objetivo: Conhecer o perfil socioeconômico,demográfico e de contágio dos pacientes portadores HIV/AIDS acompanhados em Ambulatório de Controle de DST/AIDS de São José, SC. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo transversal envolvendo uma amostra de 102 pacientes do Ambulatório, selecionados aleatoriamente.Os dados foram coletados pela aplicação de questionários estruturados contendo questões relacionadas ao perfil sociodemográfico, tempo de tratamento, tempo de infecção pelo HIV, satisfação com a saúde e com a qualidade de vida. Os dados foram analisados descritivamente. Resultados: Responderam ao questionário 85 pacientes, proporcionando uma taxa de resposta de 83,3%. Os resultados mostraram distribuição homogênea entre os sexos; idade média foi de 43 anos (DP ± 11 anos); maioria dos pacientes com 1º grau completo de escolaridade e solteiro.A principal via de transmissão foi a sexual. Os pacientes majoritariamente não se consideravam doentes, referiam sua saúde como boa e estavam satisfeitos com a qualidade de vida. Conclusão: O perfil sociodemográfico da população estudada não diferenciou de outros estudos em situações semelhantes, mesmo levando em consideração as diferenças regionais e as várias faces da epidemia no Brasil.

Background: The wide spread of the HIV/AIDS and its rapid progress demonstrates that the disease affects individuals of many age groups and different socioeconomic status. Objective: To find out the socioeconomicand demographic status and infection conditions of patients with HIV/AIDS from the Ambulatório de DST/AIDS of São José, SC. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 102 patients of Ambulatório de DST/ AIDS, randomly selected. Data were collected through structured questionnaires containing questions related to sociodemographic profile, treatment time, duration of HIV infection, satisfaction with health and quality of life. Data were descriptively analyzed. Results: 85 patientsanswered the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 83.3%. The results showed a homogeneous distribution between the sexes; mean age was 43 years (SD ± 11 years); most patients had at least the first degree of schooling. The major transmission route was through sexual intercourse. The patients mostly did not consider themselves as sick, reported their health as good and were satisfied with their quality of life. Conclusion: The sociodemographic profile of the population studied didnot differ from other studies in similar situations, even taking into account regional differences and the many faces of the epidemic in Brazil.