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Gender Differences and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Quality of Life Among ART Initiators in Oromia, Ethiopia

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Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome to assess among persons living with HIV/AIDS, but few studies have been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined HRQoL among 1180 ART-initiating adults from six clinics in Ethiopia in 2012–2013, and compared the correlates of two subscale scores between women and men. Women scored significantly higher than men on both overall function (8.4 points higher) and life satisfaction (6.3 points higher). In multivariable models, psychological distress, low CD4+ count, unemployment, and food insecurity were associated with lower quality of life scores among women and men. Men whose last sexual encounter occurred 3 months to 1 year from the interview date had lower overall function and life satisfaction scores. Men between the ages of 30–39 had lower overall function scores. Protestant women and women in the low-middle social support category had lower life satisfaction scores. Assessment of HRQoL over time will help inform HIV care and treatment practices to ensure favorable patient outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all patients at the health facilities included in this study. We want to acknowledge the efforts of the ICAP staff in-country and health facility staff for their commitment to confronting the HIV epidemic. We would also like to thank Dr. David G. Ostrow for his consultative contributions to this study. This work was supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R01MH089831). All the clinics included in this analysis received support from ICAP at Columbia University through funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAP-Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Quynh T. Vo, Wafaa M. El-Sadr, Tsigereda Gadisa & Zenebe Melaku

  2. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the NYS Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA

    Susie Hoffman & Robert H. Remien

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA

    Susie Hoffman & Batya Elul

  4. Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, City University of New York School of Public Health, New York, USA

    Denis Nash, Olga A. Tymejczyk & Sarah G. Kulkarni

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  1. Quynh T. Vo
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Correspondence to Quynh T. Vo.

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Vo, Q.T., Hoffman, S., Nash, D. et al. Gender Differences and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Quality of Life Among ART Initiators in Oromia, Ethiopia. AIDS Behav 20, 1682–1691 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1396-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1396-8

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