The objective of this study was to understand pain treatment utilization, perceived efficacy, and differences in utilization by gender, clinic site, chronicity of pain, pain severity, and depression severity among people living with HIV (PLWH), chronic pain, and elevated depression symptoms. Participants included 187 PLWH at three HIV clinics in the U.S. Overall, 85% of participants reported taking a pain medication. One quarter (25%) reported non-pharmacological professional treatments for pain (e.g., massage, physical therapy), 60% reported mind–body treatments, including exercise, meditation, and yoga, and 62% reported other non-pharmacological self-administered treatments (e.g., heat/cold). Most pain treatments were considered “slightly helpful” or “moderately helpful.” Non-pharmacological self-administered treatments were more commonly used among women than men and among individuals with constant vs. intermittent pain. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the preferred analgesic modalities of PLWH.

本研究的目的是了解艾滋病毒感染者 (PLWH)、慢性疼痛和抑郁症患者中疼痛治疗的利用情况、感知疗效以及按性别、诊所地点、疼痛的慢性程度、疼痛严重程度和抑郁严重程度划分的利用差异症状。参与者包括美国三个 HIV 诊所的 187 名感染者。总体而言，85% 的参与者报告服用了止痛药。四分之一 (25%) 的人报告了针对疼痛的非药物专业治疗（例如按摩、物理治疗），60% 的人报告了身心治疗，包括运动、冥想和瑜伽，62% 的人报告了其他非药物的自我管理方法治疗（例如热/冷）。大多数疼痛治疗被认为“有轻微帮助”或“有一定帮助”。女性比男性以及持续性疼痛和间歇性疼痛的个体更常使用非药物自行治疗。需要进一步的研究来评估 PLWH 首选镇痛方式的功效。