Health - related quality of life of tuberculosis patients assessing treatment in a tertiary health facility in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) control has been accorded a high priority within the health sector as a major public health problem. It has been seen that apart from physical symptoms such as persistent disturbing cough, TB patients face various health related quality of life (HRQol) problems that are psychological, social and economic in nature. Therefore, for a comprehensive assessment of the affected patient’s status, it is imperative to consider the overall impact of TB on the health and patient’s perception of well being. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of TB on the HRQol of patients undergoing treatment at a specialist clinic in a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. This is a prospective study carried out between October and November 2012 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra state, Nigeria with 80 adult patients who were diagnosed of TB and have been receiving medication for at least three weeks in the study centre. Patients included in this study were initially interviewed to collect data on their demographics, drug therapy, adherence status, side effects, amongst others, after which the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire- short version (WHO-Qol Bref) was self administered. The data obtained were analysed using mean, standard deviations on Microsoft excel and statistical tests for correlation on SPSS version 16. Majority of respondents were males (60%) and the mean age was 40.12 (range: 18- 60 years). The HRQol scores in the Psychological domain had the lowest mean score (13.06± 2.224) while Social relationship domain gave the highest mean score (14.73± 3.245). The females reported a significantly higher HRQol in the physical domain (14.27±2.05) than males (13.25± 2.25) with a p value of 0.04. There was no significant difference in HRQol scores with respect to age, marital status, income, education and occupation. Results from this study showed that TB patients at NAUTH, Nnewi had average HRQol with the Psychological domain being the most affected. There is therefore a need for healthcare providers to improve their patient education and counselling to TB patients.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, Health Related Quality of life (HRQol), World Health Organization Quality of Life Bref (WHO-Qol Bref)