Amsterdam 2015
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| Abstract #2246 - "When I am 64" - Ageing and HIV | ||||
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Session: 51.6: "When I am 64" - Ageing and HIV (Parallel) on Friday @ 11.00-12.30 in C104 Chaired by Sarah Zetler, Mylene Fernet Authors: Presenting Author: Prof Sibylle Nideröst - School of Social Work FHNW, Switzerland |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: In high-income countries, almost one-third of adults living with HIV are 50 years or older. Although life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLWH) increases, there is little knowledge about the quality of life of these people. Therefore, this study tried to identify the quality of life of PLWH aged over 50 in the Swiss-German speaking part of Switzerland by determine their actual living conditions and its impact on the quality of life. | ||||
| Method / Issue: The study design was cross-sectional. The anonymous, standardized, self-administered questionnaire was available as paper-pencil or online questionnaire. To measure the quality of life, we used the WHOQOL-HIV BREF questionnaire that encompassed the following six domains: physical domain, psychological domain, level of independence, social relationships, environment, and spirituality/religion/personal beliefs. Participants were consecutively sampled through different sites (NGO’s, private practitioners, HIV-clinics, homes for the elderly, Internet chat-rooms, self-help groups, patient organizations, and newspaper advertisements). During the 9-month period of data collection, 72 persons filled in the questionnaire. Their median age was 54.5 years, ranging from 57 to 78. Three quarter of the participants were male (n=54). About 60% (n=44) were men who have sex with men (either homosexual or bisexual), 13.8% (n=10) were heterosexual men, and 18.1% (n=13) were heterosexual women. The main route of acquisition was sexual transmission. The mean duration of HIV-infection was 18.5 years, ranging from 1 to 31 years. More than 93% (n=67) were under antiretroviral treatment. We carried out descriptive and inferential statistics by using SPSS 22.0. | ||||
| Results / Comments: The mean of the general quality of life was 14.9 (SD=4.14, 4-20). Only nine participants (12.5%) rated their general quality of life as very bad (= 8), whereas two-third of the participants (n=48) rated it as very good (= 16). But the means of the psychological domain (M=14.4, SD=3.27, 4-20) and the domain of social relationship (M=14.4, SD=3.48, 4-20) were considerably below the mean of general quality of life and lower than the means of the other four domains as well. Standard multiple regression analyses showed, that the main factor influencing negatively the quality of life in psychological domain were mental health problems (ß= -0.71, p<0.001), whereas having social support (ß= 0.15, p<0.05) increased quality of life in this domain. The quality of life regarding social relationships increased by having social support (ß= 0.56, p<0.001) and decreased by having mental health problems (ß= -0.27, p<0.01) and high levels of needed support (ß= -0.18, p<0.05). | ||||
| Discussion: The identified factors influencing the quality of life of PLWH provide useful information for the development of research-based interventions. For the elderly with long-term HIV, level of independence will decrease and physical impairments will more likely to occur. Interventions should especially focus on this population to provide them early with the necessary support, enable possibilities to engage in social relationships and improve their mental health. | ||||
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