title: [Stress, Needs, and Quality of Life of People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus/AIDS in North East China].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HIV/AIDS has become a chronic disease since anti-retroviral therapy has reduced the related rates of morbidity and mortality and maintained the immunity of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus / AIDS (PLWHA). PLWHA have psychological needs and many hope to improve their quality of life (QoL) over the long course of their treatment. Despite the large number of AIDS cases, there are limited reports addressing the issue of QoL among PLWHA in China.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study aims to explore the stress, needs, QoL, and related factors among PLWHA in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional, descriptive study used a structural questionnaire to assess the stress, needs, and QoL of 100 PLWHA in Shenyang, China.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most stressful issues faced by the participants were admitting HIV/AIDS status publicly and explaining their illness to others. Their needs were mainly related to receiving adequate information about HIV-related medical services, examination, and treatment and learning how to prevent disease progression. Among the four domains of QoL, the score in the physical domain was the lowest. The stress, needs, and QoL of the participants were significantly inter-correlated. However, only stress was found to predict QoL (β = -.25 to -.60, p < .05 to .001) in multivariate analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To reduce the stress, meet the needs, and improve the QoL of PLWHA, healthcare providers should work to lower the risk of divulgence, provide adequate healthcare information, and work to reduce the stigma and discrimination that is associated with having HIV/AIDS.
authors.affiliation: National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Meng-Chu
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Po-Liang
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Shiau-Jiun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiaokang Hospital, Taiwan, ROC. mingchu0215@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ming-Chu
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: PLWHA; needs; quality of life; stress