Assessment of the Quality of Life of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Maiduguri, Borno State

Persons living with HIV/AIDS in conflict-affected regions of Nigeria face compounded challenges to quality of life, including health management difficulties, stigma, and displacement, and understanding their psychosocial needs is critical for counselling programme planning. This study assessed the quality of life of PLHIV in Maiduguri, Borno State, North East Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 180 PLHIV attending antiretroviral therapy clinics at two hospitals, recruited consecutively. The WHOQOL-BREF instrument was used to assess quality of life across physical health, psychological, social relationships, and environmental domains. A questionnaire collected ART adherence, stigma experience, and social support data. Results showed the lowest mean scores in the environmental domain (mean 52.4) and psychological domain (mean 55.1), reflecting the impacts of conflict, stigma, and limited psychological support services. HIV-related stigma was reported by 69.4 percent, and its experience was significantly negatively correlated with all four quality of life domains. Conflict displacement history was significantly associated with lower environmental and social quality of life scores. ART adherence was high at 78.3 percent but was negatively affected by stigma. Only 24.4 percent had accessed psychological counselling alongside medical treatment. The study recommends stigma reduction interventions, psychosocial support integration into HIV clinic services, and conflict-sensitive counselling approaches for PLHIV in Borno State.

Keywords: quality of life, PLHIV, HIV/AIDS, Borno State, stigma counselling