Azizallah Dehghan - Noncommunicable diseases research center, Fasa University of Medical sciences, Fasa, Iran- HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Scien
Zeinab Heidari - Fasa university of medical sciences, fasa, Iran
Jalal Karimi - Fasa university of medical sciences, Fasa, Iran
Aboubakr Jafarnezhad - Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Sanaz Atef - Kerman university of medical sciences, Kerman, Iran
Hamid Sharifi - HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

Background and aim: HIV/AIDS is a chronic and debilitating illness, imposing a great burden on patient quality of life (QOL) due to its adverse physical, mental, and financial impacts. This study was aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the QOL questionnaire in persons living with HIV&AIDS (PLWHA) (WHOQOL-HIV-BREF).Materials and method: Translation, back translation, cognation debriefing and cultural adaptation were made for employment of the Persian WHOQOL-HIV BREF in this study. A total of ۱۵۰ HIV/AIDS patients who referred to Fasa and Larestan Behavioral Disease Counseling Centers were recruited into the study. The WHOQOL-HIV BREF was completed by trained interviewers. The reliability of the questionnaire was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Construct validity was assessed by item-scale correlation method, and criterion validity was determined using discriminant validity and convergent validity.Results: Cronbach's alpha was computed above ۰.۸ for all dimensions of the questionnaire. Item-convergent validity ranged from ۰.۳۸ to ۰.۸۳. The QOL score was higher in AIDS patients compared with HIV-infected persons in all dimensions (p<۰.۰۱).Conclusion: The findings of this study show that the WHOQOL-HIV questionnaire possessed acceptable validity and reliability for measuring QOL among Persian-speaking HIV/AIDS patients in Iran.

HIV, AIDS, validity, reliability, Persian