An Integrative Literature Review on Existing Education Programmes for the Improvement of QOL of PLHIV

Abstract

Mebelo Mutemwa* and Deliwe R Phetlhu

In this review, existing characteristics of education programmes, which have contributed towards the development of an education programme for the improvement of quality of life (QOL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretrovirals (ART) were examined. The research question that guided the study was: What are the characteristics of existing education programmes? All studies which had developed a programme were assessed for relevance. Only articles written in English from January 2010 to 2021 were retrieved and no authors were contacted. Studies that did not develop a programme were excluded. The Boolean words OR and AND were used in conjunction with the following search keywords/statements: programme development and HIV; designing an education programme and HIV; development of a programme and HIV; and education programmes and HIV. Critical appraised checklist tools were employed. Six themes emerged: needs assessment, programme objectives, theory-based methods and strategies, planning and development of the programme, programme implementation and programme evaluation. The 13 reviewed studies all included needs assessment as an initial step in their programme development. Twelve studies included programme implementation as well as planning and development. Of the 13 studies, 11 conducted a programme evaluation and almost half had programmes objectives as their second step.The findings of this review revealed that none of the programmes addressed QOL adequately. This implies that there is no uniform standard in addressing this phenomenon. However, the findings revealed important steps to consider when developing a programme. One may deduce that successful and solid programmes need to employ six steps. Furthermore, similar measured results from existing programmes could be used to develop education programmes that can contribute towards the improvement of QOL of PLHIV on ART.

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