Using a patient-reported outcome measure to assess quality of life at Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre

E. Mason; D. A. Lewis; I. Zablotska; L. Tomlins

doi:10.1071/SH24040

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Using a patient-reported outcome measure to assess quality of life at Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre

E. Mason

^A ^* , D. A. Lewis ^A ^B ^C , I. Zablotska ^A ^B ^C and L. Tomlins ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Sydney Medical School, Baludarri (Western Sydney) Precinct, University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.

^B Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre, Western Sydney Local Health District, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia.

^C Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: emma.mason@sydney.edu.au

Handling Editor: Anthony Smith

Sexual Health 21, SH24040 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH24040

Submitted: 1 March 2024 Accepted: 2 July 2024 Published: 22 July 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Attaining a good quality of life (QOL) is a priority for people living with HIV (PLHIV). We explored the interaction between QOL and the associated demographic, behavioural and clinical factors for PLHIV attending an outer-metropolitan clinical setting in Western Sydney, Australia. The clinic’s cohort of PLHIV is characterised by relatively high proportions of women, heterosexual men, and patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

Methods

We assessed QOL using the PozQol tool that is specifically designed for PLHIV. QOL scores and de-identified socio-demographic and clinical data were extracted from the electronic and paper medical records of PLHIV who completed a PozQol tool (September 2020–March 2022). We performed descriptive analyses and logistic regression to identify associations.

Results

Among 188 patients, there were 77.7% men, 21.3% women, 1.1% transwomen; 67.0% were born overseas, 85.1% spoke English, 84.4% were Medicare-eligible, 85.9% were employed, 58.5% were diagnosed with HIV 6–20 years ago, and 33.0% within the past 5 years. Overall, 58.0% had a high or very high QOL. A low score in any domain was associated with Medicare-ineligibility. Low QOL scores in specific domains were associated with the following factors: health (being born overseas, having partners of both sexes), psychological (unemployment, having a mental health condition, having a viral load >20 copies/mL), social (unemployment), and functional (Medicare-eligibility, unemployment, having a viral load >20 copies/mL).

Conclusions

The PozQol tool has enhanced understanding of factors impacting on QOL for PLHIV attending our service in Western Sydney. Identifying patients with low QOL scores allows targeted clinical interventions to improve QOL, and re-alignment of clinical services to better support PLHIV.

Keywords: Australia, HIV, patient reported outcome measure, people living with HIV, PozQol, QOL, quality of life, Sydney.

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