Frequently asked questions

PozQoL is a validated quality-of-life scale designed specifically for people living with HIV. It measures four areas of quality of life: psychological wellbeing, social wellbeing, health concerns, and functional wellbeing. Learn more on our About PozQoL page.

PozQoL is designed for clinicians, researchers, community workers, and organisations seeking to understand, monitor, or improve the quality of life of people living with HIV.

You can learn more about whether PozQoL is right for you on our dedicated pages for clinicians, community workers, and researchers.

‘Poz’ is a colloquial term that refers to people living with HIV (PLHIV). It is commonly used in many English-speaking countries, particularly by peer-based PLHIV organisations.

The name is a play on words that draws from two meanings of the word ‘positive’ in English:

• When something is positive, it is good, constructive, optimistic, confident, or desirable
• A person described as “HIV positive” is someone who has HIV

When ‘Poz’ is used to talk about PLHIV, it is meant in the spirit of empowerment and self-determination.

QoL is short for ‘quality of life’.

Together, PozQoL means good quality of life for people living with HIV.

PozQoL can help services, researchers, and organisations identify areas where quality of life may be stronger or lower; track changes over time; and use quality-of-life data to inform care, support, service planning, or evaluation.

Learn more in our section dedicated to quality of life among people living with HIV.

PozQoL and its supporting resources, such as scoring tools and translations, can be accessed on the PozQoL scale and tools page. These resources are free to download and include the scale, scoring tools, translations, and guidance materials.

Yes, PozQoL has been translated into multiple languages.

Please note that not all translations have been formally validated. Where we know that a version has been used in practice, used in research, or formally validated, we include this information with the relevant version.

You can find the available translations, along with information about each version, on the PozQoL scale and tools page.

Yes. We encourage people and organisations to let us know if they are developing a new translation of PozQoL.

Because PozQoL is a validated scale, translations should be developed carefully so the meaning of each item is preserved.

If you create a translation or tool based on PozQoL, we ask that you share it with us so we can make it available to others. Shared translations and tools may be distributed under the same Creative Commons licence as the original PozQoL documents.

For more information, see our Terms of use.

Yes. PozQoL is free to use for permitted purposes, including in clinics, community organisations, healthcare services, and research, including clinical trials.

This can include use by organisations that operate commercially, such as pharmaceutical companies, as long as they are using PozQoL within the permitted purposes and are not charging people living with HIV to complete the PozQoL scale or access their results.

PozQoL is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives licence. This means you can use PozQoL for permitted purposes, but you must not change the wording of the scale or present an adapted version as PozQoL.

For more details, see our Terms of use.

You do not need to ask permission to use PozQoL for permitted purposes, including healthcare, community, service evaluation, and research use.

However, you must follow the PozQoL terms of use. This includes using the scale wording as provided, not creating unauthorised adaptations, not charging people living with HIV to complete PozQoL or access their results, and citing PozQoL if you publish, present, or produce media about your use of the scale.

If you are unsure whether your intended use is permitted, please contact the PozQoL team.

Please contact the PozQoL team before using PozQoL for commercial purposes.

Commercial use may include situations where PozQoL is built into a paid product or service, used to generate paid reports, or otherwise directly monetised. You must not charge people living with HIV to complete PozQoL or access their results.

The PozQoL team can clarify whether your intended use is permitted or whether a separate agreement with La Trobe University is needed.

For more details, see our Terms of use.

Yes. PozQoL can be used in clinical services, community and peer support services, research, service evaluation, and quality improvement.

The publications about PozQoL in use and PozQoL stories provide examples of how PozQoL has been used in different settings.

PozQoL has been used with different groups of people living with HIV, including in different countries, languages, service settings, and research contexts.

As with any quality-of-life measure, it is important to consider whether the available version is appropriate for the people you are working with. This includes considering language, cultural context, literacy, accessibility, and how the scale will be introduced and supported.

The publications about PozQoL in use and PozQoL stories provide examples of how PozQoL has been used with diverse populations.

Yes. PozQoL can be used with individuals, groups, or both.

With individuals, PozQoL can help guide conversations about quality of life, identify areas where someone may want support, and inform care, referral, or support planning. With groups, PozQoL can help services, programs, or researchers understand patterns, monitor changes over time, and identify areas for service improvement. The Using PozQoL page describes using scores to inform work with both individuals and groups.

The best approach depends on your purpose, setting, and how you plan to use the information.

Yes. PozQoL can be used on its own or alongside other tools, surveys, or outcome measures.

PozQoL focuses specifically on quality of life among people living with HIV. Other tools may measure related areas such as stigma, mental health, service experience, clinical outcomes, or broader patient-reported outcomes. Using PozQoL alongside other measures can provide a more complete picture, as long as the overall survey or assessment remains practical and acceptable for the people completing it.

When combining PozQoL with other tools, use the PozQoL items, instructions, response scale, and scoring approach as provided.

We recommend that you use the exact wording provided. PozQoL is a validated scale, and changing item wording may affect reliability, validity, and score interpretation.

We recommend using the standard instructions that appear with the PozQoL scale. Adding extra explanation immediately before the items may influence how people respond. If you need to provide service-specific information, it is usually better to do this separately from the scale instructions.

PozQoL can be administered on paper or electronically. Choose the format that works best for your setting and for the people completing the scale. Considerations may include:

• Whether respondents will be more comfortable filling out the PozQoL survey in one format over the other
• How you intend to collate, store, and analyse the information

Yes. PozQoL can be repeated with the same person to help track changes in quality of life over time.

How often you repeat PozQoL depends on your setting and purpose. As a general guide, allow at least two months before re-administering PozQoL, because measurable changes in quality of life do not usually occur over very short periods. For targeted programs or workshops, repeating PozQoL around every three months may be useful. For ongoing care and support services, every 6 to 12 months is usually more practical and sustainable.

It is also worth asking whether someone has recently completed PozQoL elsewhere. If appropriate, they may prefer to share recent results rather than repeat the scale too often.

There are three tools that will automatically calculate PozQoL scores:

• Simple calculator — this spreadsheet calculates PozQoL scores for one person at a time
• Pre-Post calculator — this spreadsheet calculates and compares baseline and follow-up group PozQoL scores
• ViiV Healthcare’s PozQoL Digital Tool — this online tool allows people to complete PozQoL online and print a PDF copy of their responses and scores

For more information about available tools, visit our PozQoL scale and tools page.

Yes. The interpreting PozQoL scores page includes guidance to help you understand PozQoL scores, including comparison data where this is available.

When comparing scores, it is important to consider the context of the data, including the population, setting, country, language version, and how PozQoL was administered. Comparison data can be useful, but it should not replace local knowledge, clinical judgement, peer support, or discussion with the person completing PozQoL.

You can find the most current guidance in the interpreting scores section of the using PozQoL page.

A low PozQoL score can be a starting point for conversation, not a diagnosis or assessment on its own.

If someone has a low overall score, or a low score in one domain, talk with them about what the score means for them and what kind of support would be useful. Domain scores can help focus the conversation on areas such as psychological wellbeing, social connection, health concerns, or daily functioning. The using PozQoL guidance recommends reviewing scores with the person, asking follow-up questions, and developing care plans or referrals together.

The PozQoL website also includes a tool with recommendations for supporting people with low scores in different PozQoL domains, including suggested referrals and interventions.

PozQoL should support, not replace, clinical judgement, peer support, local knowledge, or discussion with the person completing the scale.

The resources on this website — especially the Using PozQoL page and the PozQoL implementation kit — were designed to support you to use PozQoL. If you find this information insufficient, please let us know how we can improve these resources.

We can answer simple questions where possible. However, we currently have limited capacity to provide free tailored support or implementation guidance. If you need more in-depth support, please contact us to discuss your needs and whether a funded research collaboration or consultancy arrangement may be possible.

The PozQoL team supports an online networking group for people and organisations using, or interested in using, PozQoL.

The group is currently mostly Australia-based and includes people from peer-led PLHIV organisations, clinical services, research teams, and other organisations. Meetings usually include PozQoL updates, guest speakers sharing how they are using PozQoL, and time for open questions and discussion.

If you are interested in joining the mailing list or attending a future meeting, please contact the PozQoL team.

PozQoL Stories showcase real-world examples of PozQoL being used in different contexts. Some are written by people and organisations using PozQoL, while others are research summaries prepared by the PozQoL team.