Positive relations between sexual quality of life and satisfaction with healthcare in women living with HIV and/or HCV: Results from a multicountry study

Sara Rodriguez (1) , Issifou Yaya (1, 2) , Ben Huntingdon (3) , Ilona Juraskova (3) , Marie Preau (4) , Fatima Etemadi (1) , Svetlane Dimi (5) , Maria Patrizia Carrieri (6, 7) , Pascal Bessonneau (1, 2) , Olivier Chassany (2, 1) , Martin Duracinsky (1, 2, 8)

1 URC Eco - Unité de recherche clinique en économie de la santé [Paris]
2 ECEVE (U1123 / UMR_S_1123) - Epidémiologie Clinique et Evaluation Economique Appliquées aux Populations Vulnérables
3 The University of Sydney
4 GRePS - Groupe de Recherche en Psychologie Sociétale
5 Hôpital Foch [Suresnes]
6 SESSTIM - U1252 INSERM - Aix Marseille Univ - UMR 259 IRD - Sciences Economiques et Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale
7 ISSPAM - Institut des sciences de la santé publique [Marseille]
8 Hôpital Bicêtre [AP-HP, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre]

Introduction: The sexual quality of life is a neglected concern in women living with HIV (WHIV) or with HCV (WHCV), which can further be affected by their experience with stigma, social instability, fear of transmission and reduced access to treatment. The objective of this study was to identify sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioural factors associated with sexual quality of life (SQoL) in this study group. Methods: Between December 2017 and December 2018, PROQoL-Sex Life questionnaire was administered to 404 WHIV and WHCV in five countries. PROQoL-SQoL consists of four dimensions: positive sexual perception (Psp), stigma and social distress (Sti), soft sexual practices (Sof), sexual practices with a partner (Sp), all of which were scored from 0 to 100 and considered as main outcomes, lower scores mean better sexual quality of life. Linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate the association with sociodemographic and psychosocial factors. Results: Of the participants analyzed, 191 were living with HCV, 180 with HIV and 33 with HIV and HCV, median age was 48. Among WHIV, a higher satisfaction with health care, and talking about sexuality with healthcare workers were associated with lower scores in all the dimensions of the SQoL, while psychoactive substance use was associated with lower scores of Sti and Sof. Moreover, higher satisfaction with health care, talking about sexuality with healthcare workers, and psychoactive substance use (except cocaine use) in WHCV were associated with lower scores in Psp, Sti, and Sof. Besides, cocaine use was associated with higher scores of Sof. Conclusion: This study highlighted strong relationship between the quality of health care, and psychoactive substance use (except cocaine) and the sexual quality of life in WHIV and WHCV in these five countries. These findings draw attention to the different interventions that can be proposed for improving the sexual quality of life.

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

Sara Rodriguez, Issifou Yaya, Ben Huntingdon, Ilona Juraskova, Marie Preau, et al.. Positive relations between sexual quality of life and satisfaction with healthcare in women living with HIV and/or HCV: Results from a multicountry study. PLoS ONE, 2023, 18 (1), pp.e0278054. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0278054⟩. ⟨inserm-04547426⟩