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Understanding health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people living with HIV (PLHIV) is crucial to improving care, especially in addressing mental health challenges, chronic conditions, and socioeconomic barriers. A 2021 study comparing HRQoL among people living with HIV in Romania and Spain offered key insights into how PozQoL can help assess these issues effectively, while highlighting the diverse factors impacting quality of life in two distinct HIV epidemics.
Why compare Romania and Spain?
Romania and Spain presented two distinct HIV epidemics. Romania’s HIV population is younger, with a median age of 31, while Spain’s is significantly older, with a median age of 52. Both countries have widespread access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), but the challenges faced by PLHIV differ greatly, making this comparison particularly valuable.
PozQoL: a tool for meaningful insights
The researchers chose PozQoL for its ability to assess HRQoL specifically for PLHIV, offering insights that general tools cannot. Its brevity, with just 13 items, makes it ideal for clinical and research settings, while its focus on four core domains—health concerns, psychological wellbeing, social functioning, and functional capacity—provides a comprehensive view of quality of life.
Paired with the generic EQ-5D-5L scale, PozQoL revealed nuanced differences between PLHIV in the two countries. While the EQ-5D-5L captured broad physical and mental health measures, PozQoL provided nuanced insights into the unique challenges PLHIV face, offering a foundation for developing targeted interventions.
Both Romania and Spain reported similar cumulative PozQoL scores of 3.5 on a 0-5 scale, and the study revealed critical challenges in both countries:
- Mental health burden: Anxiety and depression affected 50% of Romanian participants and 38% of Spanish participants, far exceeding rates in their general populations (30% in Romania and 15% in Spain)
- Domain-specific differences:
- In Spain, health concerns were the most affected domain, with 26.7% of participants reporting low QoL
- In Romania, functional capacity posed the greatest challenge, with 42% of participants experiencing difficulties in daily life
These findings underscore the importance of tailoring interventions to the specific needs of PLHIV in each context.
Practical takeaways
Healthcare providers
The study reinforces PozQoL’s value as a practical tool in HIV care, highlighting its ability to:
- Identifying areas where PLHIV need additional mental health support
- Highlighting domain-specific issues that require tailored care, such as functional support in Romania and health management in Spain
- Offering a reliable and efficient tool for routine QoL monitoring in clinical and community settings
By leveraging the insights PozQoL provides, healthcare providers in both clinical and community settings can enhance their approach to HIV care, ensuring that interventions align with the unique needs of PLHIV across diverse contexts.
Conclusion: PozQoL’s growing role in research and HIV care
By providing meaningful, HIV-specific insights, PozQoL helps researchers and healthcare providers move beyond generic measures to understand and address the unique challenges faced by PLHIV. This study highlights the importance of mental health and health concerns as key determinants of QoL and demonstrates PozQoL’s potential to inform interventions that enhance wellbeing in diverse settings.
As PozQoL continues to be used globally, it remains a practical and reliable tool for monitoring quality of life and guiding policies and programs that empower PLHIV to thrive.
