ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC HEART DISEASE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has become an important measure for evaluating patients with non-curable chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to assess HRQoL and its associated factors among school-aged children with chronic heart disease. Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional prospective study was conducted from February 3 to July 3, 2019. A total of 106 school-aged children with heart disease who visited SPHMMC, Pediatrics department during the study period were included in the study. Data were collected by using the standardized PedsQL 3.0 Cardiac Module questionnaire to assess quality of life. Multi-variable linear regression was used to identify associated factors with HRQoL among patients with heart disease. Results: Mean PedsQL scores for children with cardiac disease were significantly lower than healthy norms for overall HRQoL and physical functioning. The mean Total Score was 72.83±9.28 (p=0.040). The mean scores for physical health, psychosocial, emotional and cognitive domains were 66.05±13.12 (p=0.007), 79.58±8.52 (p=0.065), 76.21±9.65 (p=0.047) and 78.38±9.75 (p=0.045), respectively. The highest mean score was observed in the social health domain (82.51±11.04, p=0.750). Disease type, duration of illness and socioeconomic status (SES) including paternal educational status & current occupation as well as average monthly income were identified to affect HRQOL domains (p<0.001). Conclusion: The findings from this study indicated that all dimensions of HRQoL of children with heart disease were compromised in the study setting. It also identified important predictors such as socioeconomic status, disease category and duration of illness. These findings entail the need for intervention to improve the HRQoL in children with heart disease beyond the provision of standard treatments