Measuring quality of life among HIV-infected women using a culturally adapted questionnaire in Rakai district, Uganda.
To examine self-reported quality of life and health status of HIV-infected women and a comparison sample of HIV-uninfected women in rural Uganda, we culturally adapted a Lugandan version of the Medical Outcomes Survey-HIV (MOS-HIV). We administered a cross-sectional survey among 803 women (239 HIV-positive and 564 HIV-negative) enrolled in a community study to evaluate maternal and child health in Rakai District, Uganda. The interview took 20 minutes and was generally well-accepted. Reliability coefficients were >0.70, except for role functioning, energy and cognitive function. MOS-HIV scores for HIV-positive women were correlated with increasing number of physical symptoms and higher HIV viral load. Compared to HIV-negative women, HIV-positive women reported lower scores than HIV-negative women for general health perceptions, physical functioning, pain, energy, role functioning, social functioning, mental health and overall quality of life (p all <0.01). Substantial impairment was noted among women reporting >/=4 symptoms. In summary, HIV-positive women reported significantly poorer functioning and well-being than HIV-negative women. We conclude that patient-reported measures of health status and related concepts may provide a feasible, reliable and valid method to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS and future therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes in rural Africa.
Mast
T C
TC
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD, Baltimore, USA. christopher_mast@merck.com
Kigozi
G
G
Wabwire-Mangen
F
F
Black
R
R
Sewankambo
N
N
Serwadda
D
D
Gray
R
R
Wawer
M
M
Wu
A W
AW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012423:Rural Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014454:Uganda