Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Quality of Life among Women Living with HIV

Women living with HIV (WLWH) experience various psychosocial challenges, which negatively affect their quality of life (QOL). The current study examines the outcomes of women living with HIV (WLWH), who receive cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for improving quality of life in Tehran, Iran.

The design of the study is a randomized clinical trial (RCT). Sixty women living with HIV were randomly assigned into a control and an intervention groups, 30 participants for each group. A 10-session cognitive behavioral group therapy was provided only to the intervention group. The control group participated in 3 sessions without special training. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, quality of life was measured using Multidimensional Quality of Life Questionnaire for HIV/AIDS (MQoL-HIV) before and one month after intervention delivery. Pre-test and post-tests were compared using t-test analysis.

After 10 weeks training, the Mean±SD QOL score significantly increased in the intervention group. Based on covariance analysis, the intervention group had significantly higher QOL score than the control group after the intervention P<0.05.

Due to the low quality of life among WLWH, CBGT can be helpful in providing psychological rehabilitation to improve the quality of life of this group.