Prevalence of disability among people living with HIV in London, UK
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prevalence of disability experienced by people living with HIV during routine outpatient HIV care in London, UK: a cross-sectional self-report study
IRAS ID
236835
Contact name
Agnieszka Lewko
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's University, London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 26 days
Research summary
Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) damages the human immune system, however antiretroviral therapy (ART) changed HIV prognosis from unpreventable death to chronic condition. Globally there are 36.7million people living with HIV (PLWH) with 101,200 PLWH in the United Kingdom (UK). With effective treatment, PLWH can live normal life expectancies, and it is estimated by 2028 over half of people in UK HIV care will be aged over 50years. As people grow older with HIV, they may be susceptible to developing conditions arising from HIV, adverse effects of ART or ageing, resulting in multiple health conditions. This can create physical, mental, cognitive and social health-related challenges that can be conceptualised as disability.
Variations exist in the disability experienced by PLWH, as observed between populations in Canada and Ireland. Additionally the disability domain “uncertainty”, or worrying about the future, is emerging as an important age-related component of disability experienced by adults ageing with HIV. In the UK general population, prevalence of disability varies by age and region, however there is no UK data on disability experienced by PLWH during routine outpatient HIV care.This study aims to evaluate prevalence of self-reported disability among a sample of people living with HIV during routine outpatient HIV care in London, UK. Secondly report disability across different age groups, including the presence, severity and episodic nature across 6 disability domains. Thirdly evaluate associations between age and disability. Lastly evaluate feasibility of approach regarding screening, recruitment and implementation.
PLWH aged older than 18 years and not experiencing acute health conditions, are eligible to participate in the study, conducted across an NHS Trusts' three HIV clinics in London, UK. Participants will complete one generic and one HIV-specific, validated disability questionnaires when attending routine HIV care. The study will last 4 months and up to 200 participants are planned for recruitment.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0590
Date of REC Opinion
16 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion