Health-related quality of life is an increasingly important aspect of person-centred care (an approach to health that focuses on the person as a whole) for people with HIV.1,2 It encompasses how people with HIV are feeling in a number of areas, including physical, social, functional, and psychological factors.1–4

Australian community and healthcare services previously expressed a need for a validated tool to reliably measure health-related quality of life among people with HIV, to determine the impact of interventions and inform healthcare decisions.5 The PozQol Scale was designed as a short, easy-to-use tool to address this need.5

Supporting those who have HIV

The PozQoL Scale

The PozQoL Scale is a validated tool for measuring health-related quality of life among people with HIV. It was designed and developed in Australia. People with HIV led and were involved in the entire process of developing the PozQoL scale.5,6

PozQoL incorporates 13-items across four key domains of wellbeing to produce an overall measure of health-related quality of life.5

PozQoL domains of wellbeing5

Psychological:
Including mood, coping, hope and fear of the future, and self-worth

Social:
Including personal and social life, belonging, support, and social stigma

Health concerns:
Including perception of one’s health, health-related concerns, energy, and HIV management

Functional:
Including the ability to live a “normal” life, independence, meaningful occupation, and satisfactory standard of living

How can PozQoL help people with HIV?

PozQoL provides measures for overall health-related quality of life and for each domain of wellbeing, which may be repeated over time to observe for changes in health-related quality of life.5,7

PozQoL may be used to:8

  • better understand the needs of people with HIV
  • improve the quality of the care provided to people with HIV
  • make better decisions to improve health and quality of life for people with HIV
Download digital version of PozQol Scale

The PozQol Scale is now available as a digital tool making it quick and simple to use before or during consultations.

Complete the PozQol Scale

Resources

Market to provide PozQol day-to-day clinical practice

PozQoL in clinical practice

PozQoL was designed for use in day-to-day practice.5 We’ve prepared a downloadable explanation pamphlet to help familiarise you with the PozQoL Scale, including how it is administered, calculating scores, and how PozQoL can guide conversations around health-related quality of life.

View the PozQoL explainer here

Download

Discussing next steps with your doctor

Next steps

After your first experience with the PozQoL Scale, your doctor may provide you with the Next Steps card. This card contains links to community organisations and information on what your PozQoL score means.

View the Next Steps card here

Download

Enjoying quality of life with support network

PozQoL

Visit PozQoL.org for more information about the PozQoL Scale, including detail on using the Scale and frequently asked questions

Get started

References

  1. Lazarus JV et al. Nat Commun. 2021; 12(1): 4450. 
  2. Lazarus JV et al. BMC Med. 2016; 14(1): 94.
  3. ViiV Healthcare. Positive Perspectives Study, Wave 2 Results Report. June 2021. Available at: https://viivhealthcare.com/content/dam/cf-viiv/viiv-healthcare/en_GB/files/030821-updated-pp2-report-approved.pdf Accessed October 2021 Accessed November 2021. 
  4. Okoli C et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2020; 17: E22. 
  5. Brown G et al. BMC Public Health. 2018; 18(1): 527. 
  6. PozQoL. About PozQoL. Available at https://www.pozqol.org/about-pozqol/ Accessed January 2022.
  7. PozQoL. Developing PozQoL. Available at https://www.pozqol.org/about-pozqol/developing-validated-quality-life-scale-people-with-hiv/ Accessed January 2022.
  8. PozQoL. PozQoL: Valuing quality of life among people with HIV. Available at https://www.pozqol.org/ Accessed January 2022.

The PozQoL Scale was developed by the Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society (ARCSHS) in partnership with, National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA), Living Positive Victoria, Positive Life NSW, Queensland Positive People (QPP), and ViiV Healthcare. The Project was built on the principles of Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV (GIPA).

NP-AU-HVU-WCNT-220006 February 2022