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Describing the health-related quality of life impact of HIV infection: Findings from a study using the HIV Overview of Problems—Evaluation System (HOPES)

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Abstract

This study aimed to describe the results of findings from data collected with an HIV-specific health-related quality of life tool, and to examine the relationship between clinical and biological factors and health-related quality of life (HRQL). Data were collected as a cross-sectional, patient-completed assessment of health-related quality of life. Laboratory data were abstracted from the medical chart. Patients (n=318) with HIV infection including asymptomatic (37%), ARC (20%), AIDS (25%), and AIDS with cancer (18%) were receiving health services at one of the medical centres serving HIV-infected patients in the Los Angeles community, including UCLA, community physicians, Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, and a county hospital. Additional data were contributed by the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center CMV Retinitis Clinic. Symptomatic patients and patients with the lowest CD4 counts reported poorer HRQL than asymptomatic patients and patients with higher CD4 counts. However, medical and demographic variables explained only 35% of the variability of HRQL ratings in this sample of HIV-infected patients. While clinical status and Karnofsky performance status may be used to estimate the impact of HIV infection on HRQL, they are not a substitute for independent assessment of HRQL by the patient.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, 1100 Glendon Ave. Suite 711, 90024, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    P. A. Ganz & C. A. Coscarelli Schag

  2. Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health, 1100 Glendon Ave. Suite 711, 90024, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    P. A. Ganz

  3. Division of Cancer Control, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, 1100 Glendon Ave. Suite 711, 90024, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    P. A. Ganz, C. A. Coscarelli Schag & B. Kahn

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA

    C. A. Coscarelli Schag

  5. The BASE Unit, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA

    L. Petersen & K. Hirji

  6. Department of Biomathematics, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA

    K. Hirji

Authors
  1. P. A. Ganz
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  2. C. A. Coscarelli Schag
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  3. B. Kahn
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  4. L. Petersen
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  5. K. Hirji
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Additional information

This research was funded in part by the UCLA AIDS Clinical Research Center and CARES Consultants. To obtain more information about the HOPES, please contact the second author at CARES Consultants, 2210 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 359, Santa Monica CA 90403

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Ganz, P.A., Schag, C.A.C., Kahn, B. et al. Describing the health-related quality of life impact of HIV infection: Findings from a study using the HIV Overview of Problems—Evaluation System (HOPES). Qual Life Res 2, 109–119 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00435730

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00435730

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