Unmet basic needs negatively affect health-related quality of life in people aging with HIV: results from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places study.

Background: Basic needs (e.g., food security and stable housing) are important determinants of health and well-being, yet their impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the context of HIV and aging has not been systematically investigated.

Elevated Mortality and Associated Social Determinants of Health in a Community-Based Sample of People Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada: Findings from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places (PSHP) Study.

We examined social determinants of health associated with all-cause mortality among 602 people living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario, Canada. Mortality status was verified at 1-, 3-, and 5-year follow-up visits with information obtained from proxies (family members, partners, and friends), obituaries, and local AIDS memorial lists. Of the 454 people for whom mortality information was available, 53 individuals died yielding a crude mortality rate of 22.

Prevalence and predictors of food insecurity among people living with HIV affiliated with AIDS service organizations in Ontario, Canada.

Up to half of people living with HIV in resource-rich settings experience moderate to severe food insecurity. Food insecurity, in turn, has been linked to adverse health outcomes including poor antiretroviral adherence, poor HIV viral suppression, frailty, and mortality. We estimated the prevalence of food insecurity among 649 adults living with HIV and recruited from community-based AIDS service organizations in Ontario, Canada.

Food insufficiency, housing and health-related quality of life: results from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places study.

Studies of people living with HIV who are homeless or unstably housed show a high prevalence of food insufficiency (>50%) and associated poor health outcomes; however, most evidence is in the form of cross-sectional studies. To better understand this issue, we conducted a longitudinal study to examine the impact of food insufficiency and housing instability on overall physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people living with HIV in Ontario. Six hundred and two adults living with HIV were enrolled in the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places study and followed from 2006 to 2009.

Housing characteristics and their influence on health-related quality of life in persons living with HIV in Ontario, Canada: results from the positive spaces, healthy places study.

Although lack of housing is linked with adverse health outcomes, little is known about the impacts of the qualitative aspects of housing on health. This study examined the association between structural elements of housing, housing affordability, housing satisfaction and health-related quality of life over a 1-year period. Participants were 509 individuals living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

Inequalities in determinants of health among Aboriginal and Caucasian persons living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario: results from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places Study.

Objectives: Aboriginal Canadians (i.e., First Nations, Inuit and Métis) are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, and experience greater social and economic marginalization and poorer housing conditions.