The health authorities have recently accepted the routine provision of highly active antiretroviral therapy to persons living with AIDS in South Africa. There is a need to investigate the impact of HAART on the health-related quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in a resource-poor environment, as this will have an influence on compliance and treatment outcome. The aim of this study was to explore whether HAART is efficacious in improving the self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a group of PWLA in WHO Stages 3 and 4 living in a resource-poor community. A quasi-experimental, prospective repeated measures design was used to monitor the HRQoL over time in participants recruited to an existing HAART programme. The HRQoL of 117 participants was determined through the use of the Xhosa version of the EQ-5D and measurements were taken at baseline, one, six and 12 months. At the time of the 12-month questionnaire, 95 participants had been on HAART for 12 months. Not all participants attended all follow-up visits, but only two participants had withdrawn from the HAART programme, after two or three months. At baseline, the rank order of problems reported in all domains of the EQ-5D was significantly greater than at 12 months. The mean score on the global rating of health status increased significantly (p < 0.001) from a mean of 61.7 (SD = 22.7) at baseline to 76.1 at 12 months (SD = 18.5) It is concluded that, even in a resource-poor environment, HRQoL can be greatly improved by HAART, and that the possible side effects of the drugs seem to have a negligible impact on the wellbeing of the subjects. This bodes well for the anticipated roll-out of HAART within the public health sector in South Africa.
Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active Female