1Clinical Researcher, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
2Professor, Surgery and Medical School Dean
3ART Centre Director, Government Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
4ART Centre Medical Officer, Government Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
5Intern, Department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
6Professor of Clinical Medicine and Owen Clinic Director, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
Online published on 9 May, 2014.
The present study investigated the relationships between religious coping strategies (positive and negative) and six quality of life domains (physical, psychological, independence, social, environment, and spiritual) in 160 HIV-infected patients in Gujarat, India. Data were collected from patient interviews at a public, university-based hospital in Surat. Participants with lower annual incomes used religious coping more often (≤0.01). Positive religious coping subscribers (34.4%) were more likely to have been infected recently (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.19–7.95). After controlling for associated variables, all religious coping strategies were associated with a better quality of life in the following domains: physical, psychological, independence and environment (p<0.05). Only negative religious coping was associated with a better physical quality of life (≤0.001). Religious coping was not associated with a better spiritual quality of life (p>0.05). These results have implications for designing future religious coping interventions and for helping healthcare professionals assess religious coping in HIV/AIDS patients.
HIV, Religious Coping, Quality of Life, Intervention, Gujarat
