[Using the SF-36 to assess the quality of life of people living with HIV in Sichuan].
OBJECTIVE
To test the reliability and validity of the SF-36 in assessing the quality of life of people living with HIV in Sichuan province.


METHODS
A questionnaire survey was undertaken in 114 people living with HIV in Dazhu and Zizhong county of Sichuan, which included the SF-36 for assessing quality of life and additional items for assessing the hostility mentality trend. A repeated survey was undertaken two weeks later in 40 out of the 114 respondents to evaluate the retest reliability of the questionnaire. The quality of life of the people living with HIV was assessed against the norm of 1604 rural residents in Sichuan.


RESULTS
The internal consistent coefficients (Cronbach's alpha) of the eight scales of the SF-36 ranged from 0. 75 to 0. 92. The test-retest reliability coefficients of the eight scales of the SF-36 ranged from 0. 53 to 0. 83. The respondents who reported worse health scored significantly lower in all of the eight scales. The factor analysis extracted eight scales, with only four items without a dominant factor load on its corresponding scales. The average scores of the people living with HIV for the eight scales ranged from 21. 4 to 61. 0, significantly lower than the norm of the general rural residents. Age, gender, and length of infection were the major factors that impacted the quality of life of people living with HIV. It was common for the people living with HIV felt being stigmatized and dissatisfied with live.


CONCLUSIONS
HIV infection deteriorates people's quality of life and the SF-36 is a valid instrument to assess the quality of life of people living with HIV.
Meng
Ya-Jun
YJ
Department of Social Medicine, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Li
Ning-xiu
NX
Chen
Jian-hua
JH
Song
Yan-chao
YC
Qian
Zhu-shu
ZS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult