Social support and social undermining as explanatory factors for health-related quality of life in people living with HIV/AIDS.
This study aimed to examine the influence of social support (from personal networks and health care providers) and social undermining (from personal networks) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL; general health perceptions, physical functioning, and depression). Specifically, the authors aimed to identify the nature of the effects (direct, mediating, or moderating) of social support and social undermining on HRQOL. A total of 344 people living with HIV/AIDS and who were patients in a federally funded clinic in New Mexico completed a self-report survey questionnaire. The major findings of this study are the following: (a) social support and social undermining had direct and indirect effects on HRQOL-there was no evidence of a moderating effect of social support and social undermining; (b) for direct effects, social undermining was a stronger predictor of HRQOL than social support with social support variables having positive relations and social undermining variables having negative relations with HRQOL; and (c) for indirect effects, providers' social support partially mediated the influence of unstable employment/unemployment and social undermining on HRQOL.
a Department of Management Communication , University of Waikato , Hamilton , New Zealand.
John
J
Oetzel
Bryan
B
Wilcox
Ashley
A
Archiopoli
Magdalena
M
Avila
Cia
C
Hell
Ricky
R
Hill
Michael
M
Muhammad
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009516:New Mexico; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires