Power Jennifer, Brown Graham, Lyons Anthony, Thorpe Rachel, Dowsett Gary W, Lucke Jayne
The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
Front Public Health. 2017 Mar 22;5:50. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00050. eCollection 2017.
More than 27,000 Australians currently live with HIV. Most of these people have access to quality clinical care and antiretroviral treatment (ART) and can expect good general health. However, HIV-related stigma is a problem and many people living with HIV experience poorer than average mental health. Issues of aging are also of increasing concern. This paper describes the methods and sample for the HIV Futures 8 study, a national survey of people living with HIV in Australia that aimed to identify factors that support health and well-being among this population. HIV Futures 8 forms part of a series of cross-sectional surveys (The "HIV Futures" studies) that have been repeated periodically since 1997. In the most recent survey, participants were able to opt into a prospective longitudinal study.
HIV Futures 8 was open to people aged over 17 who were living with HIV. Data were collected in 2015/2016 using a self-complete survey that contained approximately 250 items related to physical and mental health, use of ART, HIV exposure and testing, financial security, social connectedness, relationships, life satisfaction, resilience, stigma, use of health and support services, and health literacy. To enable comparison of cross-sectional data over time, questionnaire items were consistent with those used in previous HIV Futures surveys. In HIV Futures 8, participants were invited to volunteer coded information that will allow longitudinal follow-up when participants complete subsequent HIV Futures surveys. The survey was advertised through the networks of HIV organizations, on social media and through HIV clinics and services. HIV Futures 8 was completed by 895 participants. This represents approximately 3.8% of the total number of people living with diagnosed HIV in Australia in 2014.
Findings from HIV Futures 8 will contribute important insights into the complexity of factors that support physical and mental well-being among people living with HIV. The findings will also assist HIV services to align with broader public health goals related to increasing ART use and improving quality of life among people living with HIV.
目前，超过2.7万澳大利亚人感染了艾滋病毒。这些人中的大多数能够获得优质的临床护理和抗逆转录病毒治疗（ART），并有望保持良好的总体健康状况。然而，与艾滋病毒相关的污名化是一个问题，许多艾滋病毒感染者的心理健康状况低于平均水平。老龄化问题也日益受到关注。本文描述了“艾滋病毒未来8研究”的方法和样本，这是一项针对澳大利亚艾滋病毒感染者的全国性调查，旨在确定有助于该人群健康和福祉的因素。“艾滋病毒未来8研究”是自1997年以来定期开展的一系列横断面调查（“艾滋病毒未来”研究）的一部分。在最近的一次调查中，参与者能够选择加入一项前瞻性纵向研究。
“艾滋病毒未来8研究”向17岁以上的艾滋病毒感染者开放。2015年/2016年通过一份自我填写的调查问卷收集数据，该问卷包含约250个与身心健康、ART使用、艾滋病毒暴露与检测、财务安全、社会联系、人际关系、生活满意度、恢复力、污名化、健康与支持服务使用以及健康素养相关的问题。为了能够对不同时期的横断面数据进行比较，调查问卷的问题与之前的“艾滋病毒未来”调查中使用的问题一致。在“艾滋病毒未来8研究”中，参与者被邀请自愿提供编码信息，以便在参与者完成后续的“艾滋病毒未来”调查时进行纵向随访。该调查通过艾滋病毒组织网络、社交媒体以及艾滋病毒诊所和服务机构进行宣传。895名参与者完成了“艾滋病毒未来8研究”。这约占2014年澳大利亚已确诊艾滋病毒感染者总数的3.8%。
“艾滋病毒未来8研究”的结果将为支持艾滋病毒感染者身心健康的因素的复杂性提供重要见解。这些结果还将帮助艾滋病毒服务机构与更广泛的公共卫生目标保持一致，这些目标涉及增加ART的使用以及改善艾滋病毒感染者的生活质量。
