People living with HIV/AIDS in the city of Bangkok: Quality of life and related factors

Objective: To assess the quality of life and factors related to quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS in Bangkok, Thailand. Material and Method: A cross-sectional survey research was conducted among 138 people aged over 18 years living with HIV/AIDS in Bangkok. The sample was selected by purposive sampling from HIV infected persons who attended the HIV clinic at the hospitals in Bangkok. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires from June to July 2010 and analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Results: The finding revealed that of the people living with HIV/AIDS, 67.4% reported a moderate level with respect to quality of life and 32.6% reported a good level concerning the quality of life. Factors related to quality of life were age, education level, monthly income, self-esteem, family relationships and social support (p < 0.05). Conclusion: All of the people living with HIV/AIDS reported having a moderate to good quality of life. From research results, responsible organizations should establish activities to promote self-esteem, family relationships and social support for people living with HIV/AIDS to enhance the quality of life of infected persons. Increasing public awareness to better understand basic needs such as family relationships and social support and providing HIV/AIDS education to the community were deemed important.