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. PURPOSE: 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 (ß = -.25 to -.60, p < .05 to .001) in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: 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.
