QUALITY OF LIFE ASSESSMENT IN PERSONS WITH AIDS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VALID AND RELIABLE INSTRUMENT THAT CAN BE USED IN CLINICAL TRIALS TO ASSESS QUALITY OF LIFE (QOL) IN PERSONS WITH HIV OR AIDS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED INTERNATIONALLY AS A PUBLIC HEALTH PRIORITY. BECAUSE OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF AIDS AND THE INCREASING NUMBERS OF PERSONS WITH HIV, NEW THERAPIES AND TREATMENT OPTIONS ARE CONSTANTLY BEING TESTED. QUALITY OF LIFE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS AN IMPORTANT OUTCOME IN PUBLIC HEALTH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL WELL-ESTABLISHED QOL MEASURES ALREADY EXIST, MOST ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR LARGE-SCALE CLINICAL TRIALS OR FOR HIV/AIDS. THE FINAL PRODUCT OF THIS INITIATIVE WILL BE AN EASILY ADMINISTERED MULTI-DIMENSIONAL QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURE, DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR HIV/AIDS, THAT IS SENSITIVE ENOUGH TO DISCRIMINATE QOL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES IN CLINICAL TRIALS EVALUATING MEDICAL OR TREATMENT INTERVENTIONS. STANDARD PROCEDURES FOR SCALE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE USED: (1) INTERVIEWS WITH PERSONS WITH HIV OR AIDS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS WORKING PREDOMINANTLY WITH HIV/AIDS PATIENTS; (2) DEVELOPMENT OF A POOL OF ITEMS THAT TAP DIFFERENT DIMENSION S OF QOL; (3) DEVELOPMENT OF A RESPONSE SCALE; (4) CONSTRUCTION OF A DRAFT INSTRUMENT CONTAINING ITEMS ON EACH DIMENSION; AND (5) REVIEW OF THE DRAFT INSTRUMENT BY HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. PHASE II WILL CONSIST OF CREATING A VALID AND RELIABLE QOL INSTRUMENT FROM THE THE PROTOTYPE ITEMS DEVELOPED DURING PHASE I.