Assessment of the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS in the city of Lubumbashi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Worldwide coverage of anti-retroviral treatment has extended life expectancy of people living with HIV and AIDS. The expanded survival time brings into play the patients’ quality of life, on which little data is available in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was administered to 249 patients, mostly females (65%), attending a dedicated centre for the treatment and comprehensive support to people living with HIV/AIDS in the city of Lubumbashi and its surroundings. Internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire were determined using Cronbach’s alpha on the contributing 24 items. Descriptive statistics were used: mean and standard deviation for continuous variables and count and percentage for categorical variables. Logistic regression and generalized linear regression models were performed to assess potential association between socio-demographic variables and quality of life. The distribution of the socio-demographic characteristics studied in the current study and their association with the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS are comparable with those reported from elsewhere. Consistently, education attainment, employment status, and presence of another HIV positive person in the household manifested as factors associated to the total score, and to all the scores in the six quality of life domains. While further research is warranted in relation to the finding of negative association of the presence of another person living with HIV/AIDS in the household, in order to improve their clients’ quality of life, we recommend to service providers the inclusion of psychosocial support that takes into account the individuals’ home circumstances. Key words: Quality of life, HIV/AIDS, persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA), WHOQOL-HIV-Bref, sub-Sahara, Congo-Kinshasa.