Quality Of Life Among Parents Of Children Having Thalassemia Versus Leukemia – A Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Health is the primary factor in the actualization of human potential. Parental stress and QOL are important determinants of both their own and their children's welfare. Parents have an impact on their children's physical, social, and mental health as well as many other aspects of their lives, such as their QOL, academic performance, and level of health development. For the benefit of the family and a child's growth, it is crucial to preserve and improve parents' health. This study aims to compare the quality of life among parents of children having Thalassemia versus Leukemia and also to find out the association between quality of life among parents of affected children with selected socio-demographic variables.

Method: The research design used for the study is descriptive comparative research design. Data was collected through a structured interview method by convenience sampling technique. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Result: The mean age of the father, mother, and child was 43.4 ± 6.5, 38 ± 6.5, and 12.7 ± 4.4 years. About 31% of parents had one child, 46% had two and 23% had more than two children. The majority of families belonged to the lower middle class (44%), and middle class (29%). In all 8 aspects of family impact modules QOL score of parents’ in the T1 group was significantly higher indicating a poorer QOL for parents of the T2 group with p<0.05, where the score in the L2 group was significantly higher indicating the better QOL for parents of L2 group with p <0.05. The total QOL score of Thalassemia (T1 & T2) was 36.21 ± 11.29 and Leukaemia (L1 & L2) group was 36.12 ± 14.47. Both groups have average to poor QOL and there was no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.971).

Conclusion: Family well-being is the foundation for the QOL of children. In this study, no socio-demographic factors found a significant association with parental QOL. However, more studies need to be done in order to ascertain the factors contributing to the QOL of parents.