Quality of life in HIV-infected women in the south-eastern United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of social (social support, material resources, disclosure, and family functioning) and psychological factors (stigma, emotional distress, intrusion, avoidance, and fatalism) as predictors of the quality of life of women infected with HIV. The cross-sectional data were drawn from interviews of a sample of 264 women recruited from 8 HIV/AIDS treatment sites in a south-eastern state. Variance in quality of life variables, included limited daily functioning, general anxiety, and HIV symptoms was analyzed using ANOVA, correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Limited daily functioning was predicted by stigma, fatalism, employment status, and stage of disease (R² = 0.179). General anxiety was predicted by emotional distress, intrusion, and marital status (R² = 0.503). Reported HIV symptoms were predicted by material resources, disclosure, intrusion, age, employment status, and race (R² = 0.294). The results of this study support that social and, particularly, psychological factors are important in their influence on quality of life in women with HIV infection and suggest the need for interventions which address such factors.