Health-Related Quality of Life in Persons with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Assessing health-related quality of life in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is extremely important, but most available scales are too long, contain items that are not relevant for such persons, or do not assess important signs and symptoms of HIV infection. This study presen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical care 1993-07, Vol.31 (7), p.569-580
Main Authors: Cleary, Paul D., Fowler, Floyd J., Weissman, Joel, Massagli, Michael P., Wilson, Ira, Seage, George R., Gatsonis, Constantine, Epstein, Arnold
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - psychology
Activities of Daily Living
Adolescent
Adult
AIDS
AIDS/HIV
Biological and medical sciences
Boston
Data Collection
Disabilities
Fatigue
Female
Health Status
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Memory
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Physical symptoms
Predictive Value of Tests
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Severity of Illness Index
Symptoms
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Summary:Assessing health-related quality of life in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is extremely important, but most available scales are too long, contain items that are not relevant for such persons, or do not assess important signs and symptoms of HIV infection. This study presents a new set of scales for assessing the symptoms and functioning of persons infected with HIV and reports data on their reliability and validity collected in face-to-face interviews with 189 patients receiving primary care. This study also assesses the associations among systems, functional impairment, and global health assessments. The scales are easy to administer, are reliable, and serve as valid measures of quality of life. Fatigue, functional status, and average severity of all symptoms were the best predictors of overall perceived health status. Psychological well-being and perceived health status were the best predictors of overall perceived health status. Psychological well-being and perceived health status were the strongest correlates of life satisfaction. When assessing the health-related quality of life of persons infected with HIV, this study recommends utilizing a comprehensive set of measures that allows one to examine both discrete symptoms and the more diffuse impact of illness on functioning, mental health, and quality of life.
ISSN:0025-7079
1537-1948
DOI:10.1097/00005650-199307000-00001