The Australian Community Accord on Quality of Life for People Living with HIV

Our national HIV strategy defines three targets intended to reduce the number of new HIV diagnoses each year.

Recognising that people with suppressed ‘viral load’ cannot sexually transmit the virus, the strategy targets 95% of people with HIV knowing their status, commencing timely treatment, and reaching suppressed viral load. This is part of an audacious plan to end HIV as a threat to public health by 2030.

That said, having good HIV care and achieving a low viral load do not guarantee that a person with HIV will have a good quality of life. And we cannot end the HIV epidemic without addressing and undoing its lingering impact on personal health and wellbeing.

One study, Positive Perspectives 2, found Australia leads the world in satisfaction with HIV care, with 83% of Australian respondents being happy with their HIV care. But only 64% reported being in optimal overall health.

There are eight drivers identified in the Accord — four positive and four negative. The positive drivers are meaning, belonging, care, and support. The negative drivers are isolation, stigma, distress and insecurity of everyday essentials (income, housing, etc.)

Poster authors Daniel Reeders and Brent Allan are available for interview. Brent Allan has been living with HIV for 20 years and is a former CEO of Living Positive Victoria, an organisation that represents and serves people with HIV in Victoria, Australia. Daniel is a PhD researcher and HIV health promotion worker at the National Association of People with HIV Australia.

NAPWHA can provide contacts for a doctor who works with people with HIV and other people with HIV who can share their story of tackling quality of life issues.

Disclosures

The AusQOL project (and Daniel and Brent’s attendance at the Montréal conference) were funded via an unrestricted educational grant from ViiV Healthcare Australia.