Living with HIV

Menu open

TALKING ABOUT HIV

The relationship you have with your doctor is one of the guiding elements of your HIV care

Your HIV healthcare team is there to help you achieve your best possible health-related quality of life, but you also play a big part in making that happen. That’s why building relationships with your healthcare team that focus on open communication are so important.

Discussing any priorities or concerns you have with your HIV care can be uncomfortable at first but engaging with your doctor and having these open conversations is a great way to empower yourself. It also enables you to focus on all aspects of your health, including your quality of life.

Women in red plaid long sleeve shirt holding phone showing a mockup of the PozQoL Scale. Blurry lights in the background.

Learn more about PozQoL and how you can better understand your wellbeing

Read more

An appointment with your doctor is a great opportunity to discuss your HIV care, including issues of:

  • treatment adherence
  • side effects
  • changes in priorities
  • long-term concerns

Before attending your appointment, complete the PozQoL digital tool and take a copy of your results to your appointment. You could also write notes on what you would like to discuss with your doctor.

At your appointments, it’s always a good idea to talk about how your health has been, how you’re feeling about yourself and how you’ve coped with taking your medicines. Remember, you are best positioned to talk about your health experience and the health outcomes you discuss can help your doctor to work better with you.

Your treatment priorities can change over time and your doctor is there to work with you to maintain your health.

"I see that my clinician is interested in more than just my numbers. They're interested in what's going on in my life."

BRENT ALLAN

HIV Advocate

Tools are available to help guide conversations between you and your doctor. You may have already read about patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in our Focusing on your Wellbeing section. PROMs can help you and your doctor to understand your health-related quality of life, which can help guide discussions and decisions about your HIV care.

Whether you want to discuss your physical, psychological, social, or functional wellbeing, PROMs are a great starting point to facilitate discussing your health priorities and concerns with your doctor.

An older caucasian man with black glasses and a dark red shirt completing paperwork with a friend

One PROM used in Australia for HIV care is the PozQoL Scale. It is a scale specifically designed to measure quality of life among people with HIV. PROMs like PozQoL can benefit by helping to:[1–3]

References:

  1. Lazarus JV et al. Nat Commun. 2021; 12(1): 4450.
  2. Brown G et al. BMC Public Health. 2018; 18(1): 527.
  3. PozQoL. PozQoL – Valuing quality of life among people with HIV. Available at: https://www.pozqol.org Accessed April 2024.

NP-AU-HVX-WCNT-240003 | Date of preparation: April 2024.