Improving the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS: A cross-sectional study of the role of religion

Background: Previous studies have found religion as a useful tool in coping with chronic medical conditions including HIV/AIDS. Aim: This study assessed how religiosity and religious coping are associated with quality of life (QOL) among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Patients and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 140 HIV clinic attendees of a Nigerian tertiary health facility. Religiosity, religious coping and QOL were measured with religious orientation scale-revised (ROS-R), Brief Religious Coping (Brief RCOPE) and World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQOL-BREF), respectively. Correlation analysis assessed the relationship between ROS-R, Brief RCOPE and WHOQOL-BREF. Results: Intrinsic religiosity (IR) scores had a moderate positive correlation with psychological health domain of QOL (r = 0.4, N = 140, and P 0.001), and a weak positive correlation with physical health domain of QOL (r = 0.2, N = 140, and P 0.05). Extrinsic religiosity (ER) scores moderately correlated positively with the psychological health domain of QOL (r = 0.03, N = 140, and P 0.002), but weakly correlated positively with the physical health domain (r = 0.2, N = 140, and P 0.02). Positive religious coping (PRC) scores moderately correlated positively with the psychological health domain (r = 0.03, N = 140, and P 0.05) and weakly correlated positively with physical health domain of QOL (r = 0.2, N = 140, and P 0.02). Extrinsic religiosity social (ERS) scores had a moderate positive correlation with the social relationships domain (r = 0.4, N = 140, P 0.001). Conclusion: Increased ER, IR orientations and Positive Religious Coping appear to improve the psychological and physical health domains of QOL QOL Therefore, religiosity should be encouraged among PLWHA to improve QOL.