1. QUALITY OF LIFE OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN ACCRA, GHANA
AKUA AFRIYIE ADDAE & HAWABU ABDUL-KARIM
KNUST COUNSELING CENTER & REGENT UNIVERSITY
NHARCON 2018
8-11 MAY, 2018

2. OUTLINE Introduction Objectives Methodology Results Discussion
References

3. INTRODUCTION
HIV awareness, VCT and ART uptake are high in Ghana (Ghana AIDS Commission, 2014; Owusu-Ansah, Addae, Abdul-Rahman & Adjei, in press)
HIV patients still to suffer stigma and other psychosocial problem which affect their quality of life (Abrefa-Gyan, Cornelius & Okundaye, 2016; Belo & Belo, 2013)

4. INTRODUCTION
Quality of Life (QoL) refers to the degree of excellence in a person’s life at any given period that contributes to satisfaction and happiness of the person and benefits society.
QoL is multifaceted, incorporating physical, material, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being

5. PAST STUDIES Findings on socio-demographic determinants of QoL mixed
Some studies indicate that being female, unmarried, unemployed and older are significantly associated with poorer QoL (Abrefa-Gyan & Okundaye, 2015; Belo & Belo, 2013; Liping, Peng, Haijiang, Lahon & Fan, 2015; Tesfey et al., 2015)
Other studies have also found contrary evidence, especially with respect to gender, age (Osei- Yeboah et al, 2017)

6. OBJECTIVES
To assess the quality of life people living with HIV/AIDS in Accra
To identify factors associated with better quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS

7. METHODOLOGY Design= Cross sectional Study Participants
100 people living with HIV and 75 healthy control
PLHIV from two support/self-help groups
Sampling Technique- Purposive and convenience
Measures/Instruments
Questionnaire
(WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire

8. METHODOLOGY
Letter of introduction taken from institution to participating organizations
Groups met at their meeting days at different times
Researchers introduced to participants by leader
Purpose of study explained and informed consent of participants sought
Questionnaires distributed and instructions explained
Participants fill questionnaires
Participants needing help are assisted

9. Results Table 1: Socio-demographic Information of Participants
Variable Frequency (Percentage) M SD
HIV Status Yes No
100 (57.1%) (42.9%)
Age
60 (34.3%) (65.7%)
Gender Male Female
74(42.3%) (57.7%)
Marital Status Not Married Married
110(62.9%) (37.1%)
Employment Status Employed Unemployed
91(52.0%) (48.0%)
Highest Education None primary JHS SHS Tertiary
27(15.4.0%) (12.0%) (16.0%) (40.6%) (16.0)

10. RESULTS
Table 2: Overall Quality of Life Quality of Life X2 p Very Poor Poor Neither Poor/Good Good Very Good <0.001 PLHIV Control

11. RESULTS Table 3: Descriptive Statistics and Independent t-test for Quality of Life Domains
Outcome Group % CI for
PLHIV Controls Mean
M SD n M SD n Difference t df p
Physical <0.001
Env’t <0.001
Social <0.001
Psych <0.001
Psych= Psychological Env’t = Environmental

12. RESULTS Table 4: Gender Differences for Quality of Life Domains for PLHIV
Env’t
Outcome Group % CI for
Male Female Mean
M SD n M SD n Difference t df p
Physical <0.001
Psych <0.001
Social <0.001
Env’t <0.001
Psych= Psychological Env’t = Environmental

13. RESULTS Table 5: Differences for Quality of Life Domains for PLHIV
Env’t
Outcome Group % CI for
Not Married Married Mean
M SD n M SD n Difference t df p
Physical <0.001
Psych <0.001
Social <0.001
Env’t <0.001
Psych= Psychological Env’t = Environmental

14. Table 6: One – Way ANOVA of Educational Background and the Domains of QoL of PLHIV.  
Source of Variance
 MS
 df  F  p
 Physical
Between
944.27 4
2.25
.070
Within
420.01
Psych
935.59
2.24
.051
417.74
Social
6.78
<.001
522.66
Env’t
181.32
3.40
.012
533.77

15. RESULTS
Table:7 Multiple Comparison for Level of Education on Social Domain Mean Group (J) Level of Education None *** Mean Group (I) 2. Primary ** 3. JHS *** 4. SHS ** 5. Tertiary **p<0.01, *** p< 0.001

16. Discussion
Summary:
Study sought to determine the quality of life of PLHIV and identify factors associated with better quality of life for PLHIV
Findings indicate that quality of life of PLHIV is poorer than healthy controls
Being male, married and highly educated are associated with better QoL
Being female, single and less educated are associated with poorer QoL
Finding consistent with previous studies

17. DISCUSSION Limitations Recommendations: Small sample size
Correlational study- Causality difficulty
Recommendations:
Increase team effort between various health providers and stakeholders to address psychosocial challenges

18. Conclusion
The findings highlight the need for enhanced psychosocial support and better environment for improving the quality of life among PLHIV. This can be attained by offering comprehensive and integrated services to the PLHIV including providing employment, psychological services, primary medical care, financial self- sufficiency, housing, food, child care and social sensitization, particularly for women affected by the disease; as well as creating appropriate safety nets for patients.

19. REFERENCES
Abrefa-Gyan, Cornelius & Okundaye (2016). Socio-Demographic Factors, Social Support, Quality of Life, and HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 13:2, , DOI: /
Belo & Belo (2013). Quality of Life of Hiv/Aids Patients in a Secondary Health Care Facility, Ilorin, Nigeria. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 26:2, , DOI: /
Owusu-Ansah, Addae, Abdul-Rahman & Adjei, (in press). The Paradox of Knowing and Doing: HIV Awareness and Sexual Behaviours among KNUST Students. African Journal of AIDS Research
Osei-Yeboah et al. (2017). Quality of Life of People Living with HIV/AIDS in the Ho Municipality, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study. AIDS Research and Treatment 2017, Article ID , 7 pages

20. THANK YOU
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