Quality of Life in People With HIV at the End of Life: Preliminary Results From the Last Gift Observational Cohort Study.

Background: As people living with HIV (PWH) age, they face new challenges that can have a negative impact on their quality of life (QOL) and mental health.

Setting: This study enrolled PWH at the end of life (EOL) who were actively engaged in cure-related research in Southern California, United States. EOL was defined as having a prognosis of 6 months or less to live.

People with HIV at the end-of-life and their next-of-kin/loved ones are willing to participate in interventional HIV cure-related research.

Introduction: The Last Gift study at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), United States enrolls terminally ill people with HIV (PWH) in HIV cure research.

Methods: From 2017 to 2022, we conducted surveys with Last Gift participants and their next-of-kin/loved ones to evaluate willingness to participate in different types of HIV cure research at the end of life (EOL). We analyzed willingness data descriptively.

Perceived risks and benefits of enrolling people with HIV at the end of life in cure research in Southern California, United States.

Introduction: Although current antiretroviral therapy allows most people with HIV (PWH) to experience normal longevity with a good quality of life, an HIV cure remains elusive due to HIV reservoir formation within deep tissues. An HIV cure remains highly desirable to the community of PWH. This study reports on the perceived risks and benefits of participation in the Last Gift study, a study aimed at characterizing HIV reservoirs via post-mortem autopsy, among PWH at the end of life (EOL) and their next-of-kin (NOK)/loved ones.