| Summary: | Hunduma Dinsa Ayeno, Kume Megersa Atomsa, Getu Melesie Taye Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ambo University, Ambo, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Hunduma Dinsa Ayeno Email dhunduma@gmail.comBackground: Determining the degree of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and associated factors in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive people is of great importance.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the HRQoL and associated factors among HIV-infected patients who were on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) at Ambo General Hospital.Methods: A study with a cross-sectional design was conducted on 296 HIV-infected patients who were on HAART at Ambo General Hospital from February 20 to May 20, 2019. Patients were recruited by a random sampling technique and a P-value < 0.05 was set as statistically significant. Th main outcome measure was HRQoL.Results: The majority of study participants were female (56.8%). More than half (53%) of the participants had low overall HRQoL. Those who were married and who earned < 1500 ETB were less likely to experience low overall HRQoL than single people (AOR: 4.41, P=0.024) and those who earned more (AOR: 4.27, P=0.000), respectively. Those with current illness and who had no HIV-positive family members were more likely to experience lower overall quality of life than those with no current illness (AOR: 32.29, P=0.000) and with one HIV-positive family member (AOR: 4.03, P=0.003), respectively. Those with recent WHO clinical stage I were less likely to experience a lower overall quality of life than those with stage II (AOR: 0.07, P=0.000).Conclusion: Current illness, recent WHO stage and having no HIV-positive family members were found to be strongly associated with lower quality of life in HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy.Keywords: health-related quality of life, HIV-positive patients, highly active antiretroviral therapy, Ambo General Hospital, WHO stage IV
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