Social resources, health promotion behavior, and quality of life in adults living with HIV

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the associations among three social resource variables (social belonging, social support networks, and social capital) and two health promotion behaviors, HIV medication adherence and physical activity, and quality of life among persons living with HIV (PLHIV).

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis in 102 adult PLHIV. Social resource variables and quality of life were assessed using validated and widely-used instruments. Physical activity was assessed using a daily physical activity diary and medication adherence was abstracted from the participant's medical record. Spearman correlations and descriptive statistics were used to analyze associations among variables.

Results: Fifty-four participants (54%) were male and most were African American (84%), single (69%), and living in poverty (82%). Participants had been living with HIV for an average of 13.6 years (+/-7) and most were living with at least one non-AIDS comorbidity (80%). Social belonging was significantly associated with HIV medication adherence (ρ=0.25, p=0.02), overall functioning (ρ=0.48, p<0.01) and life satisfaction quality of life (ρ=0.50, p<0.01). Social capital was also associated with HIV medication adherence (ρ=0.17, p=0.10) and life satisfaction quality of life (ρ=0.29, p<0.01).

Conclusions: We found that there are distinctions among various, widely-used social resource constructs. By describing these unique associations and distinctions, our study helps identify which social resources should be targeted in the development of interventions to improve health promotion and the quality of life of members of this marginalized population.

Keywords: HIV; Health promotion; Quality of life; Social support.