HIV-Related Self-Stigma and Health-Related Quality of Life of People Living With HIV in Finland

• Published in: The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 254 - 265
• Main Authors: Nobre, Nuno, Pereira, Marco, Roine, Risto P., Sutinen, Jussi, Sintonen, Harri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2018
• Subjects: 15D; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Health Status; health-related quality of life; HIV; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - psychology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Social Stigma; Socioeconomic Factors; stigma; Surveys and Questionnaires; WHOQOL-HIV-Bref; Young Adult; Finland; 15D; stigma; WHOQOL-HIV-Bref; health-related quality of life; HIV; quality of life
• ISSN: 1055-3290; 1552-6917; 1552-6917
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jana.2017.08.006

We examined how HIV-related self-stigma was associated with different domains of quality of life (QoL), as measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life in HIV-infected persons instrument (WHOQOL-HIV-Bref), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as measured by the generic 15D (15-dimensional measure of HRQoL), to identify the factors associated with self-stigma of people living with HIV (PLWH). The study sample included 440 patients living with HIV followed at the Infectious Disease Clinic of Helsinki University Hospital. Participants with more severe self-stigma reported significantly lower QoL and HRQoL. Male gender, cohabiting with a partner, and disclosure of HIV status were associated with less self-stigma; high education level and financial difficulties were associated with greater self-stigma. Having lived longer with HIV, being unemployed, and living alone were also predictors of self-stigma via financial difficulties. The findings suggest that self-stigma is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that impacts the HRQoL of PLWH. Psychosocial interventions to enhance the well-being of PLWH are increasingly needed.