A STUDY OF THE RELIABILITY, VALIDITY AND RESPONSIVENESS OF THE HIV OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS EVALUATION SYSTEM (HOPES) IN ASSESSING THE QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH AIDS AND SYMPTOMATIC HIV-INFECTION

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, reliabili ty, validity and responsiveness of the HIV Overview of Problems Evalua tion System (HOPES) in a Dutch sample. The HOPES was administered thre e times in a one-year period to a sample of 106 outpatients with a sym ptomatic HIV-infection (n = 23) or AIDS (n = 83). The HOPES is a self- report HIV-specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire including five scales: physical, psychosocial and sexual functioning, medical intera ction and partner relationship. QOL was also assessed with the EORTC Q uality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), a 30-item self-report in strument. Clinical data included Centers for Disease Control end Preve ntion (CDC) stage, date of diagnosis and CD4 cell count. Patients need ed approximately 20-30 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The five scales had good internal consistency reliability. Multitrait scaling analysis provided moderate support for item discriminant and convergen t validity. The HOPES exhibited adequate levels of construct validity: (1) the inter-scale correlations and correlations with the EORTC QLQ- C30 were in the predicted direction; (2) it discriminated clearly betw een patients with AIDS and ARC and (3) it was able to document changes in QOL over time. Moreover the HOPES was responsive to changes in cli nical status over time as indicated by CD4 counts. This study provides further evidence of the reliability and validity of the HOPES and sho ws that this instrument is responsive to changes in CD4 cell counts.