The data on health locus of control and its relationship with quality of life in HIV-positive patients

Reactivity of Health-Related Quality of Life to Perceived Stress: The Buffering Role of Psychosocial Resources in a Longitudinal Study of Adults with and Without HIV

People with HIV now have increased longevity; however, their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) still lags significantly compared to people without HIV. Perceived stress negatively impacts HRQoL, whereas psychosocial resources are linked to better HRQoL. This longitudinal analysis aims to explore the buffering role of psychosocial resources on the relationship between HRQoL and perceived stress. Participants (N = 240) included 142 persons with HIV (PwH) and 98 without HIV, M(SD) = 50.9(8.1) years. Multilevel models over four study years examined longitudinal relationships between HRQoL (outcome) and perceived stress (predictor) and potential moderation by psychosocial resources (personal mastery, social support, and resilience) by HIV serostatus. Among PwH only, personal mastery (p = 0.001), social support (p = 0.015), and resilience (p = 0.029) were associated with an attenuated effect of perceived stress (less negative slopes) for physical HRQoL over time. Bolstering personal mastery, social support, and resilience may have relevance for improving physical well-being among PwH.

The Association of Health Locus of Control with Clinical and Psychosocial Aspects of Living with Multiple Sclerosis

Health Locus of control (LOC) refers to one's beliefs regarding control over one's health. This study aimed to determine the relationship between LOC on clinical and psychosocial aspects associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). 5059 participants with MS completed a questionnaire pack including the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale. Associations between LOC and sociodemographic (age, gender, educational level) and clinical variables (duration, disability, depression, anxiety, self-efficacy, QoL) were explored. LOC was found to be significantly associated with all of the clinical variables and age, but not gender or educational level. When controlling for level of disability, Chance (CLOC) was associated with higher self-efficacy, lower anxiety and higher QoL than Powerful Others (PLOC), while Internal (ILOC) had no association. The proportion with ILOC preference was lower in increased disability. In MS, believing that health is controlled mainly by chance confers the most benefit with regard to quality of life. There is prima-facie evidence that LOC preference changes with MS progression, in a pattern that is protective against psychological distress.

Intrapersonal predictors of internalized stigma among school going adolescents living with HIV in southwestern Uganda

We assessed the association between internalized HIV stigma, resilience, health locus of control, coping self-efficacy and empowerment among adolescents living with HIV in Uganda. We conducted a cross-sectional study between August and October 2020 among 173 adolescents aged 13-18 years attending Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital's HIV clinic. We used linear regression to determine the association between HIV stigma and intrapersonal factors adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. The median age of the participants was 16 (IQR 3) years. There was a negative correlation between HIV stigma and resilience (β= -0.03, p < 0.001), internal health locus of control (β= -0.095, p < 0.001) and coping self-efficacy (β= -0.02, p < 0.001), while empowerment was positively correlated (β = 0.07, p < 0.001) with HIV stigma. After adjusting for the intrapersonal factors (resilience, health locus of control, coping self-efficacy and empowerment) and socio-demographic characteristics (education level and boarding school), only internal health locus of control (β=-0.044, p = 0.016) and coping self-efficacy (β=-0.015, p < 0.001) remained significantly correlated with HIV stigma. The findings suggest that interventions focusing on intrapersonal factors such as internal locus of control, empowerment and resilience may contribute towards reduction of HIV stigma among adolescents in boarding schools.

Health Locus of Control and Neurocognitive Function in Latinx and Non-Latinx White People Living With HIV: A Cross-sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Research suggests that health locus of control (HLOC) is related to important health and neurocognitive outcomes in people living with HIV. However, the role of ethnicity in these relationships remains poorly understood. This study explored the role of HLOC on neurocognition in a diverse sample of 134 people living with HIV (Latinx: n = 96; non-Latinx White: n = 38) who completed comprehensive neurocognitive evaluations and the Multidimensional HLOC Scale-Form C. Results indicate no ethnocultural differences in HLOC beliefs (ps > .05). External HLOC (i.e., chance and powerful others) related to worse neurocognition in the Latinx group and contributed to significant variance in global neurocognition and learning, memory, and verbal fluency, underscoring the role of external HLOC beliefs on neurocognition, particularly for Latinx individuals. Additional research is needed to better characterize the mechanistic relationship between HLOC beliefs and neurocognitive function and to further explore this relationship among other underrepresented populations also disproportionately affected by HIV.

Quality of Life of People with HIV/AIDS in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background:

Assessing the quality of life in HIV/AIDS patients is of great importance not only for evaluating the effect of the disease, but also to measure the impact of the interventions in order to improve their quality of life in clinical researches. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review the quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients in Iran.

Methods:

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the literature search using the related chain of keywords was conducted from 1 Jan 1987 to 30 Apr 2019 in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Iranian Scientific Information Database (SID), and Magiran. Moreover, hand search of the key journals and the gray literature was performed. The meta-analysis was performed by CMA2 software.

Results:

Out of the 1576 retrieved records, eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The average age of the patients was 37.15 ± 9.46 years. The average score of quality of life before and after sensitivity analysis was (39.13 [28.36–49.901 95% CI P>0.000] vs. 49.05 [46.31–51.79 95% CI P>0.000]). Moreover, the average score of quality of life was respectively 38.86±3.83 vs. 40±6.37 among married compared with single patients, 56.33±4.67 vs. 43.64±1.94 for employment vs. unemployment status. While quality of life was measured in terms of education level, the score was 29.59±9.34 vs. 41.65±4.45 in the individuals with primary school versus academic education.

Conclusion:

The QOL score of the HIV/AIDS patients in Iran was significantly low. Therefore, the study highlights the importance of strengthening efforts to undertake necessary investigations in order to provide adequate health insurance, extensive and affordable welfare services, and more appropriate social and mental supports in order to improve the quality of life of the individuals with HIV/AIDS in Iran.