Health‐related quality of life in persons with haemophilia in Afghanistan

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionHaemophilia is the most common severe congenital bleeding disorder and can significantly influence patients’ quality of life. The health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multi‐dimensional concept that assess effect of different aspects of health status, including physical, mental, and social domains. Identification of the factors affecting the HRQoL of Persons with Haemophilia (PWH) can guide health care system to better management of patients.AimThe aim of the present study is to evaluate HRQoL in PWH in Afghanistan.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study was conducted on 100 PWH in Kabul City, Afghanistan. Data were collected using 36‐Item‐Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36) questionnaire and analysed using correlation coefficients and regression analysis.ResultsThe mean scores for the SF‐36 questionnaire 8 domains range from 33 ± 38.3 to 58.15 ± 20.5. The highest mean value belongs to physical function (PF) (58.15), whereas the lowest is related to restriction of activities due to emotional problems (RE) (33.00). A significant association (p < .005) was observed between all domains of SF‐36 and patients’ age except for PF (p = .055) and general health (GH) (p = .75). A significant association was also observed between all HRQoL domains and the severity of haemophilia (p < .001). The severity of haemophilia was the significant predictor for Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) (p < .001).ConclusionDue to the reduced HRQoL in Afghan PWH, special attention by health care system should be paid to improve patients’ quality of life.