The quality of life of HIV positive Transgender and homosexual population in Karachi, Pakistan.

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To study the demographics and the quality of life of Transgenders and men who have sex with men (MSM) infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Methods: A Cross sectional study conducted from 2019 to 2021 in the Indus Hospital Karachi. A 30 minutes interview was conducted among HIV positive homosexual participants. Results: Out of 100 patients enrolled 58% were transgender, 39% uneducated, 76% not supported financially by family, 20% reported hospital misconduct, 50% were commercial sex workers and 64% had anxiety. Our results also showed that increasing patient knowledge does not guarantee safe sex habits (p-value=0.82). Conclusion: We found declining psycho-social wellbeing in this population. Education and family support may help establish a good standard of living in them. More studies are needed in the Pakistani transgender population in order to understand their needs better.