Quality Of Life Of HIV Positive Patients Attending Anti-Retroviral Clinic in Enugu, Nigeria.

Abstract

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Globally, more than 70 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 35 million people have died of HIV related causes since 1981. OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of life of HIV positive patients attending Anti-retroviral clinic in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: This cross sectional study was carried out among 400 respondents selected by systematic sampling. Fisher Exact and chi square test, Student t-test, and Spearman’s correlation were used where appropriate. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Majority (75%) of the respondents were female, and more than half (54.3%) were more than 38 years old. A high proportion (77.5%) perceived their overall quality of life to be in excellent. Those 38 years and above had the best quality of life, while those within the age group 18 to 22 years had the worst quality of life. Married or widowed respondents had better excellent quality of health than those who were separated or single. The quality of life of majority of the respondents was mostly affected by lack of money (75.8%) and their physical condition (24.3%). Also, most of the respondents (56.2%) who were ill had the least quality of life, while those who were not ill (87.5%) had better quality of life. Majority of the respondents (68.3%) were satisfied with their physical condition. While 75.8% were satisfied with their psychological feelings. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The overall quality of life of majority of the respondents was good, and majority of them were satisfied with their current health status. There should be improvement on early diagnosis and treatment, including provision of social support services.