ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: China began providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in 2003. This study was to investigate the living conditions, including quality of life and happiness, and need for palliative care of end-of-life PLWHA in rural Henan. METHODS: One hundred end-of-life AIDS patients were selected from Weishi, Zhenping and Tanghe counties in Henan, using convenience sampling. The World Health Organization Quality of Life for HIV (WHOQOL-HIV) BREF Chinese Version was used to measure the quality of life and the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) was employed to measure subjective welfare. Qualitative interviews and focus group discussions were undertaken to learn about the palliative care provided and the specific needs of the end-of-life patients. RESULTS: Patients' overall quality of life was moderate (12.62±1.97). Highest scores were in the spirituality/religion/personal beliefs, higher than the average scores in the Chinese population (P<0.01), while psychological (13.58±2.06) and environment (12.50±3.28) domain scores were similar to the latter (P>0.05). Both independence (12.15±2.15) and physiological (14.04±3.16) domain scores were lower than the average of the people living with HIV/AIDS in other studies (P<0.01); however, all were in the moderate range. The average MUNSH score was 21.00±6.20, which was also moderate. The in-depth interviews indicated that the Henan Provincial Government's policy of treatment and care had a beneficial impact on end-of-life AIDS patients, although the care components could be improved. CONCLUSIONS: Living conditions of the end-of-life AIDS patients were moderate, and the HIV/AIDS palliative care model used was beneficial to them. Care could be improved by assisting the family unit as a whole.
Subject(s)
Blood Donors , HIV Infections/therapy , Palliative Care/standards , Plasma Exchange , Quality of Health Care , Quality of Life , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/drug therapy , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/epidemiology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/psychology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/therapy , Adult , Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active , Blood Donors/psychology , China , Critical Illness , Female , HIV Infections/drug therapy , HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Infections/psychology , Humans , Male , Plasma Exchange/statistics & numerical data , Rural Population , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe the doctors' satisfaction of the doctor-patient relationship and find out the influencing factors of the patients, gathering evidence to improve the doctor-patient relationship. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study, in which doctors and nurses in 10 hospitals of Beijing, Shandong and Chongqing were surveyed with structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. RESULTS: The mean score of the doctors' satisfaction of the doctor-patient relationship was 59.97, which was much lower than the patients'. The patients' socio-demographic characteristics, social economic status (SES) and behavior characteristics influence the interaction of the doctors and the patients. The doctors' satisfaction of the doctor-patient relationship was influenced by the patients' trust. CONCLUSION: The doctors' perspective is helpful to define the tension and the cause of the doctor-patient relationship. The patients' characteristics have important influence on the doctor-patient relationship. It's necessary to take action on the patients to improve the doctor-patient relationship.
