Frequently asked questions

PozQoL is a validated quality-of-life scale designed specifically for people living with HIV. It measures key domains such as psychological wellbeing, social inclusion, health concerns, and functional independence. Learn more on our About PozQoL page.

PozQoL is designed for clinicians, researchers, community workers, and organisations seeking to assess and 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 who is “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.

Yes, PozQoL is free to use for non-commercial purposes, making it accessible to healthcare services, community organisations, and researchers. Details are available on the Terms of Use page.

You do not need permission to use PozQoL for non-commercial purposes, but we encourage users to contact us to let us know for our records. Further details are on the Terms of use page.

PozQoL is free to use for non-commercial purposes within clinics, community organisations, other healthcare settings, and research (including clinical trials). This includes use by for-profit organisations, such as pharmaceutical companies, as long as they are not charging people living with HIV to complete the PozQoL scale or access their results.

We assess commercial use on a case-by-case basis. If you plan to use PozQoL in a way that directly monetises the scale—such as charging individuals to complete PozQoL or access their results—please contact us for clarification. Depending on the nature of your intended use, we may require that you enter into a contract with La Trobe University and pay a contribution to the PozQoL project.

For more details, refer to our Terms of use.

Yes, PozQoL has been translated into multiple languages to support diverse communities. A full list of translations is available on the PozQoL scale and tools page. Please note that only the English and Turkish versions have undergone testing for validity.

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 everything you need to start implementing PozQoL in your service or research.

PozQoL is designed to be inclusive and can be used with various populations, such as migrant communities, older adults, or newly diagnosed individuals. Visit the PozQoL stories page to explore real-world examples of its use in different settings.

Yes, PozQoL is a versatile tool that can be used in clinical, community, and research settings. Learn more about its application in these contexts on the pages for clinical services, community services, and research. You can also explore PozQoL stories for practical examples.

PozQoL helps identify areas for improvement and tracks changes in quality of life for people living with HIV. Learn more in our section dedicated to quality of life among people living with HIV.

We recommend that you use the exact wording provided.

PozQoL is a validated scale. Changing the wording of any of the items would mean the reliability and validity could no longer be counted on, and you would not be able to calculate PozQoL scores with confidence.

We recommend that you use the exact wording provided.

Changing or adding nuance to the instructions or introductory text may create a risk of influencing responses, which may decrease their reliability.

We have tested PozQoL in both paper and electronic format and it appears to make no difference to the validity of the results.

It is up to you how you would like to administer PozQoL. The best choice for you will depend on practical considerations, such as:

• 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

There are currently three (3) options of 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

The information on this website — in particular our using PozQoL information 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; however, we currently have limited resources to provide free support or guidance for using PozQoL. If you need more in-depth support, please reach out to discuss your needs and the potential for funded research collaborations or consultancy support.

PozQoL Stories showcase real-world examples of PozQoL being used in different contexts. They are written by the people who have used, or who are using, PozQoL.

The thresholds tables on the interpreting PozQoL scores page are based on PozQoL studies of 465 adults (aged 18 and older) living with HIV in Australia.

HIV Futures uses PozQoL as part of their national study about quality of life of people living with HIV in Australia. Once HIV Futures 10 data analysis is complete, we will update these tables with more recent data from a larger sample of people.