The experienced positive and negative influence of HIV on quality of life of people with HIV and vulnerable to HIV in the Netherlands

Kim A.G.J. Romijnders*, Laura de Groot, Sigrid C.J.M. Vervoort, Maartje Basten, Berend J. van Welzen, Mirjam E E Kretzschmar, Peter Reiss, Udi Davidovich, Maarten F Schim van der Loeff, Ganna Rozhnova

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experienced influence of HIV on the quality of life (QoL) of people with HIV (PHIV) and key populations without but are vulnerable to HIV in the Netherlands. We conducted and thematically analyzed interviews with 29 PHIV and 13 participants from key populations without HIV (i.e., men who have sex with men). PHIV and key populations shared positive meaningful experiences regarding HIV, i.e., feeling grateful for ART, life, and the availability of PrEP, being loved and supported in the light of HIV, and providing support to the community. Negative predominant experiences regarding HIV were described by both PHIV and key populations as the negative effects of ART, challenges with regards to disclosing HIV, social stigmatization, and self-stigma. It remains important to support HIV community organizations in their efforts to reduce social stigmatization and to continue improving biomedical interventions for HIV.
Original languageEnglish
Article number21887
JournalScientific Reports
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Dec 2022

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the participants who were willing to share their experiences with us. In addition, we are thankful for their valuable contribution to our recruitment to all staff of the Amsterdam Cohort Studies, the AGEhIV Cohort Study, the infectious diseases outpatient clinic of the University Medical Center Utrecht, Bertus Tempert, Thijs Albers, and Renee Finkelflügel from the Dutch HIV Association. We gratefully acknowledge Maartje Dijkstra, Gail Henderson, Holly Peay, Stuart Rennie, and Fred Verdult for their involvement during the initial stages of this study. We thank students M. Diallo and D. Overduin for their contribution during the data collection. Finally, we thank our collaborators on the Aidsfonds project P-52901 (Daniela Bezemer, Pythia Nieuwkerk, Godelieve de Bree, Amy Matser, Janneke Heijne, Myrthe Verburgh, Sebastiaan Verboeket, Franco Romero Gonzalez, and Ard van Sighem) for helpful discussions. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding by the Aidsfonds Netherlands, grant number P-52901. We gratefully acknowledge the participants who were willing to share their experiences with us. In addition, we are thankful for their valuable contribution to our recruitment to all staff of the Amsterdam Cohort Studies, the AGEhIV Cohort Study, the infectious diseases outpatient clinic of the University Medical Center Utrecht, Bertus Tempert, Thijs Albers, and Renee Finkelflügel from the Dutch HIV Association. We gratefully acknowledge Maartje Dijkstra, Gail Henderson, Holly Peay, Stuart Rennie, and Fred Verdult for their involvement during the initial stages of this study. We thank students M. Diallo and D. Overduin for their contribution during the data collection. Finally, we thank our collaborators on the Aidsfonds project P-52901 (Daniela Bezemer, Pythia Nieuwkerk, Godelieve de Bree, Amy Matser, Janneke Heijne, Myrthe Verburgh, Sebastiaan Verboeket, Franco Romero Gonzalez, and Ard van Sighem) for helpful discussions. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding by the Aidsfonds Netherlands, grant number P-52901.

FundersFunder number
Dutch HIV Association
Maartje DijkstraP-52901
University Medical Center Utrecht

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