HEALTH RELATED QUALLITY OF LIFE OF CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS

Abstract

A descriptive survey was carried out with the aim of determining the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of hospitalised children with chronic illness. Data was collected from 148 children with chronic illness admitted in selected paediatric wards of tertiary care hospitals and their parents. The results showed that 51 percent of the children scored below the median of total HRQOL score. Children with cancer 34 (91.9%) and thalassemia 33 (89.2%) reported a low HRQOL. Children with chronic illness especially cancer and thalassemia had significantly low HRQOL compared to children with other illnesses. Gender, diagnosis, frequency of hospitalisation, duration of illness and type of treatment received were the predictive of HRQOL of these children.