Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret

Abstract

Abstract Purpose To determine the quality of life and the relationship between sociodemographic, psychopathological, and socio-environmental factors and quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain. Methods The study used a descriptive cross-sectional design. Data was collected using sociodemographic and WHOQOL-BREF Questionnaires. Three hundred and eighteen patients were consecutively sampled and data analyzed using computer software. Categorical demographic data were analyzed using frequency and percentages, significant findings were further analyzed by multivariate linear regression.Statistical significance was set at a p-value of < 0.05. Results Seventy percent of participants were females while thirty percent were males. The mean Quality of life score for the 4 domains was 50.56(SD = 9.55). On a scale of 1–5, the mean score of the Overall Quality of life facet was 2.42 (SD = 0.80) while that of the general health facet was 2.31 (SD = 0.69). The psychological domain had the highest number of patients with poor scores at n = 69. Older age (46–65) was significantly associated with lower mean QOL at 49.4(SD = 9.2) p < 0.001 compared to younger age groups. This age bracket also reported low physical and psychological health domain scores (mean 36.97 and 54.62, p < 0.0016 respectively). Patients with a higher income level reported a higher psychological domain score (mean 56.75, p < 0.0076). A higher level of education was significantly associated with a high mean QOL (p < 0.022). Conclusion Patients with chronic low back pain have a reduced quality of life. Older age, low level of income, and low level of education were significantly associated with low quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain. There is a subset of patients with psychological impairment. A multidisciplinary,biopsychosocial approach to the treatment of this condition is recommended.