Quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS in Cross River, Nigeria

Background: People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) now enjoy appreciable longevity and there is need to enhance their quality of life. Unfortunately, limited studies in Nigeria have used the World Health Organization Quality Of Life BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) to determine the quality of life of PLWHA. Aim: This study was to assess the quality of life of PLWHA participating in five support groups in Southern Cross River Senatorial District. Methods: The study was a descriptive survey. It was delimited to PLWHA who belonged to support groups and were available to complete the questionnaire. A total of 123 PLWHA were recruited into the study. WHOQOL BREF was used for data collection. Results: The mean (SD) age of the PLWHA was 36.4 +/10.9. Most 83(67.5%) were females while 40 (32.5%) were males (Figure 1). With regards to education, most of the respondents 60(48.8%) attended secondary school, followed by 48(39%) who attended tertiary institutions while only 15(12.2%) had primary education (Figure 2).The highest mean (SD) quality of life score emanated from physical health, 14.04+2.66.The mean (SD) scores in the three domains were similar among the PLWHA: psychological health, 13.55+ 2.45; social relation, 13.60+3.01; environment, 13.25+2.58. Conclusion: The study suggests that the lower mean score for environment may be an indication of poverty and poor living conditions while higher mean score for physical health may suggest accessibility to anti retroviral drugs. Therefore it was suggested that loan should made accessible to PLWHA in Cross River State. This should empower them to establish means of livelihood.