Transportation Barriers and Health-Related Quality of Life in a Sample of Middle-Aged and Older Adults Living with HIV in the Deep South

Caitlin N. Pope, Despina Stavrinos, Pariya L. Fazeli, David E. Vance

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Access to reliable transportation is a social determinant of health imperative for disease management for those aging with HIV/AIDS. To what degree transportation barriers are associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in middle-aged and older people living with HIV (PWH) in the Deep South region of the United States is presently unknown. PWH (n = 261, age range = 39 to 73 years old, 80.1% African American, 64.4% male) were recruited from an academic medical center in the Deep South. Variables included sociodemographics, HIV characteristics, depressive symptoms, HRQOL, and perceived transportation barriers. Spearman rho correlations and linear regressions accounting for covariates were conducted. After accounting for covariates, greater perceived transportation barriers were associated with worse health perceptions, pain, social functioning, health distress, and health transitions. Access to reliable transportation is a key factor in improving health for PWH. Considerations for healthcare and traffic safety are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2148-2158
Number of pages11
JournalAIDS and Behavior
Volume26
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R01-award (R01 MH106366- 01A1; ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02758093; An RCT of Speed of Processing Training in Middle-aged and Older Adults with HIV; PI: Vance); NIH/National Institute on Aging (NIA) R00-award (R00 AG048762; A Novel Neurorehabilitation Approach for Cognitive Aging with HIV; PI: Fazeli); NIH/NIA P30-award (Edward R. Roybal Center for Translational Research in Aging and Mobility; P30 AG022838; PI: Ball), NIH/NIMH R25-award (R25 MH108389; Sustained Training on Aging and HIV Research; PIs: Jeste, Letendre], ORWH and NIH/NIDA BIRCWH grant (#5K12DA035150; PI: Curry); and the U.S. Department of Transportation Dwight D. Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship Program (PI: Pope).

Funding Information:
A special thank you to the participants, the UAB Center for Research on Applied Gerontology, UAB School of Nursing, UAB Department of Psychology, UK Department of Health, Behavior & Society, and UK Graduate Center for Gerontology.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Aging
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Health status
  • Quality of life
  • Transportation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases

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