Ntshakala Theresa T, Mavundla Thandisizwe R, Dolamo Bethabile L
Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa.
Curationis. 2012 Dec 6;35(1):87. doi: 10.4102/curationis.v35i1.87.
Quality of life (QOL) domains that are context specific to people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Swaziland are unknown. This presents a problem when research has to be conducted on QOL of PLWHA who are on ART. As a result, this study was conducted to identify, validate and describe domains necessary to assess QOL of PLWHA, who are on ART in Swaziland. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual design was used for this study. The first phase dealt with a review of fifty existing QOL definitions and the identification of the common domains amongst them. Findings from this review revealed that the most common domains of QOL are the physiological, psychological, spiritual and socio-economic domains. The second phase was the validation of the above common domains identified from the examined QOL definitions to make them context specific to PLWHA who are on ART in Swaziland. A workshop was used to validate the domains with expert nurses involved in the care of PLWHA in Swaziland. The experts in ART care were trained on ART and had more than a year's experience of working with PLWHA who are on ART. The validation process revealed that the essential context specific domains to consider when assessing QOL of PLWHA who are on ART are, (1) physiological domain, (2) psychological domain, (3) spiritual domain, (4) socio-economic domain, (5) cognitive domain, and (6) environmental domain. The process of validation of the domains was important as two extra domains were revealed, which were not initially recognised by the researcher during literature review.
在斯威士兰，接受抗逆转录病毒疗法（ART）的艾滋病毒和艾滋病感染者（PLWHA）所特有的生活质量（QOL）领域尚不清楚。当必须对接受ART治疗的PLWHA的生活质量进行研究时，这就产生了一个问题。因此，开展了本研究，以识别、验证和描述评估斯威士兰接受ART治疗的PLWHA生活质量所需的领域。本研究采用了定性、探索性、描述性和情境性设计。第一阶段涉及对五十个现有的生活质量定义进行审查，并确定其中的共同领域。该审查的结果显示，生活质量最常见的领域是生理、心理、精神和社会经济领域。第二阶段是对从审查的生活质量定义中确定的上述共同领域进行验证，使其针对斯威士兰接受ART治疗的PLWHA具有情境特异性。举办了一个研讨会，与参与斯威士兰PLWHA护理的专家护士一起对这些领域进行验证。ART护理专家接受过ART培训，并有一年以上与接受ART治疗的PLWHA合作的经验。验证过程表明，在评估接受ART治疗的PLWHA的生活质量时需要考虑的基本情境特定领域是：（1）生理领域，（2）心理领域，（3）精神领域，（4）社会经济领域，（5）认知领域，以及（6）环境领域。领域验证过程很重要，因为揭示了两个额外的领域，这是研究人员在文献综述中最初未认识到的。
