title: Quality of life and hostile mentality trend of patients with HIV/AIDS in China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the quality of life (QOL) and hostile mentality trend (HMT) of patients with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in China, and to identify their major concerns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Short Form-36 (SF-36) was used to assess QOL, and seven items were developed to assess the HMT. In-depth interviews were conducted with patients and health workers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SF-36 had moderate reliability, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.75 to 0.90 and test-retest correlation coefficients ranging from 0.54 to 0.80 for the eight domains. The item-subscale correlation coefficients ranged from 0.46 to 0.97. The QOL of patients with HIV/AIDS was significantly lower than the average QOL of the general population (P<0.01). Hostile mentality of patients was significant (mean scores of the seven items ranged from 2.87 to 4.32, and the mean sum of scores was 3.45 from a range of 1-5). Cronbach's alpha coefficient of HMT items was 0.75 and the test-retest correlation coefficient was 0.80. The major concerns of patients with HIV/AIDS were financial insecurity and family responsibilities, followed by the fear of death and no cure for HIV/AIDS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SF-36 is a reliable instrument for the assessment of QOL of patients with HIV/AIDS. The QOL of patients with HIV/AIDS in China is poor. The HMT is a valuable indicator to monitor the outcomes of care for patients with HIV/AIDS.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. mengyajun2005@sina.com
authors.forename: Ya-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Ning-Xiu
authors.initials: NX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chao-Jie
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jian-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yan-Chao
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Zu-Shu
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors