Assessment of quality of life and psychosocial status of mothers whose children underwent congenital heart surgery

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life of mothers whose children underwent cardiac surgery. Patients and methods: This prospective, case-control study included a total of 103 children (52 males, 51 females; mean age: 59.1±56.1 months; range, 1 month-18 years) who underwent congenital heart surgery and their mothers between September 2019 and April 2020. The children who underwent cardiac surgery and their mothers were included as the study group (n=48). The control group (n=55) included healthy children and their mothers. Sociodemographic data of the children and their mothers were recorded. The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was administered to the mothers. Results: Both groups were similar in terms of age, sex, height, and birth weight, maternal age, education and marital status, and presence of comorbidities (p>0.05). The scores in a 0-100 scale of physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment domains of the WHOQOL-BREF were statistically lower in the study group (p<0.05). Intensive care duration was negatively correlated with all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF (p<0.05). The domains except for the environment were negatively correlated with the hospital stay (p<0.05). Conclusion: Lower scores of WHOQOL-BREF were achieved in mothers whose children underwent congenital cardiac surgery. Length of intensive care and hospital stay was negatively correlated with the WHOQOL-BREF. Routine screening and counseling may be valuable in this patient population.