Measuring health related quality of life among women living with HIV

Although women had been under recognized in the literature on HIV/AIDS, inc reasing numbers of studies have focused on the lives and experiences of wom en living with HIV/AIDS. Areas of research in which the study of women and HIV continues to be noticeably lacking include health related quality of li fe (HRQOL). This paper describes HRQOL in an inner city sample of 287 HIV p ositive non-pregnant women, interviewed as part of a larger multi-site CDC funded study of the reproductive health of women. The average age of the re spondents was 33 years and women had known their HIV status an average of 4 1 months. HRQOL was assessed using a 17-item modified version of the Medica l Outcomes Study-HIV Health Survey and demonstrated acceptable internal con sistency (0.64-0.89) and variability. Women in our study were similar to ot her HIV-positive female samples and reported lower levels of well-being and functioning than some HIV-positive male samples. Women's responses to indi vidual items and areas of potential need for health care are discussed. Exa mination of HRQOL in women with HIV can aid in the comparison of how women and men are affected by HIV and can help health care professionals identify needed services and include possible interventions to promote quality of l ife.