RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To assess reliability and validity of the Thai abbreviated version of World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF-THAI) in HIV/AIDS patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The present study is descriptive research. Data were purposefully collected from 120 HIV/AIDS outpatients at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute, Thailand, during September-December 2004. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.61 to 0.81 across domains. Exploratory factor analysis identified four major domains: physical, psychological, social and environmental domains, corresponding to the four WHOQOL-BREF domains. The four domain scores correlated positively with general health satisfaction and overall quality of life questions (all p < 0.01 except general health & social domain p < 0.05), and correlated negatively with the frequency and severity of HIV symptoms (all p < 0.01). The four domain scores discriminated between patients with higher and lower frequency and severity of HIV symptoms (all p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The present study shows that WHOQOL-BREF THAI can be a good generic health-related quality of life instrument in HIV/AIDS patients.