HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG PATIENTS WITH PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS IN PUDUCHERRY.

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a disease with social implications due to the stigma attached to it. It has been seen that apart from physical symptoms, TB patients\nface various problems that are social and economic in nature. Therefore,for a comprehensive assessment of patients health status, it is essential to\nconsider the overall impact of TB on health and patients perception of well-being, besides routine clinical, radiological and bacteriological\nassessments.Continuous care for patient with tuberculosis focuses on teaching to prevent the spread of the disease to the others and to ensure an\neffective treatment to eradicate the disease. Tuberculosis is a disease with social implications due to the stigma attached to it. It has been seen that\napart from physical symptoms, TB patients face various problems that are social and economic in nature. Therefore, for acomprehensive\nassessment of patients health status, it is essential to consider the overall impact of TB on health and patients perception of well-being, besides\nroutine clinical, radiological and bacteriological assessments The aim of the study to assess the health related quality of life among patients with\nPulmonary tuberculosis in selected Primary Health Centres under RNTCP, in Puducherry. The Objectives of the study as to assess the health related\nquality of life among patients with newly diagnosed Pulmonary tuberculosis. A descriptive cross sectional research design was adopted for the\nstudy. For the purpose of this study, a total of 126 subjects with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis were selected from the four primary health\ncentres as Mettupalayam,Lawspet, Reddiarpalayam and Mudaliarpet under RNTCP (October 2016 to February 2018) by using cluster stage\nsampling technique. The investigator explained the purpose of the study to the subjects. Socio demographic pro\uf001le was assessed and the Quality of\nLife (QoL) score of the subjects with pulmonary tuberculosis was measured and evaluated by using modi\uf001ed Health-Related Quality of Life\n(HRQoL) short form 36 item scale (Kruijshaar, et al., 2010) with the aim of highlighting the impact of the disease on the overall well-being of the\npatient as often neglected aspect of health. Health-related quality of life refers to the overall conditions of the quality of life of the individuals in\neight domains 1. physical functioning, 2. role limitation / physical health, 3. role limitation / emotional health, 4. energy/ vitality 5. emotional well\nbeing / mental health, 6. social functioning, 7. body pain and 8. general health of an individual or a group measured in terms of feelings of\nsatisfaction or dissatisfaction which is a subjective assessment of one s own well-being and perception of the degree of contentment with and\ncapability to perform and control different facets of one s own life..The major \uf001ndings of the study as out of 126 subjects, the overall health related\nquality of life mean score in the experimental group was 13.05 ± 8.27 and in the control group it was 12.55±8.28. Results. The results of the current\nstudy highlighted a signi\uf001cant impact on several domains of HRQoL of pulmonary TB patients. Conclusion. The results of the present study\nconcluded that TB patients had poor HRQoLin spite of the new therapeutic strategies and free availability of medicines. The disease had a negative\nimpact on HRQoLof TB patients across all domains