Introduction:
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a serious healthcare challenge globally. Morbidities caused by inefficient immune system potentially reduce quality of life (QoL) of HIV patients. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy has transformed this deadly disease into a chronic manageable illness, with focus shifting from fighting the virus to ensuring good quality of life. To assess the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and the factors influencing it.

Material and methods:
An institutional-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 207 PLWHA, aged more than 18 years, attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) center at a tertiary care center in India between July and September 2023. WHOQOL-HIV BREF questionnaire was used, and statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 26.0. The association between QoL and various factors was tested using ANOVA and Student’s t-test.

Results:
This study showed that PLWHA had better QoL in physical domain (mean score of 15.9 ± 2.2), while lowest QoL mean score was noted in social relationship domain (11.8 ± 1.4). Participants with higher educational qualifications, those who were taking ART for more than 10 years, patients who were self-motivated to take ART, and those without any opportunistic infections had higher mean scores in all 6 domains of QoL.

Conclusions:
The low QoL mean score in social relationship domain is an indication of the persisting stigma related to HIV/AIDS among PLWHA. Proper awareness and counselling of patients and caretakers can help improve PLWHA QoL.