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Validation of the quality of life scale: living with HIV
Author(s) -
Holzemer William L.,
Spicer Joan Gygax,
Wilson Holly Skodol,
Kemppainen Jeanne K.,
Coleman Christopher
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1998.00800.x
Subject(s) - scale (ratio) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , quality of life (healthcare) , quality (philosophy) , psychology , gerontology , medicine , nursing , geography , family medicine , cartography , philosophy , epistemology
A grounded theory of Salvaging Quality of Life provided the conceptual framework for the development of the Living with HIV scale which was validated in this study. The HIV+ convenience sample ( n =187) was 66% male, with a mean age of 40·6 years, 69% African‐American, and with an average CD4 count of 229 mm 3 . A principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted on the final 32‐item scale and nine factors with Eigenvalues >1 explained 60% of the variance. A second order factor analysis of these nine factors resulted in a two factor solution (HIV Struggles and HIV Reverence) which explained 49·4% of the variance. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient for the total scale was 0·84. Differences between gender, ethnicity, education and presence of an AIDS diagnosis, and quality of life, were explored. Females had higher total scores which suggested they had a more positive quality of life than males. The Living with HIV scale can be used as a method of obtaining input from patients for care planning and for evaluating the effectiveness of nursing care intervention using quality of life as an outcome of care.