Abstract
Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is one of the most important public health concerns in the industrialized and developing world having increasing incidence and prevalence. Measuring quality of life using rigorous statistical method may be helpful to provide input for decision makers, policy makers and development of guidelines for the Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to determine health-related quality of life and its associated factors among heart failure patients attending University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed to select 469 heart failure patients who has follow up at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital consecutively from March 1 to 30, 2020. Data were entered to Epi-info7 and exported to STATA 14 and Amos for further analysis. The four Quality of life domains were measured with Standardized World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF. Structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the relationships among exogenous, mediating, and endogenous variables simultaneously. Results: Chronic heart failure patients had a significant lower mean score in all domains of health-related quality of life (p-value< 0.0001). Age had a direct positive effect on all domains of health-related quality of life and a positive total effect on overall health related quality of life. Residency also had a direct negative effect on both physical and environmental health related quality of life domain. Duration of chronic heart failure had a direct negative effect on psychological health. There was strong correlation among the four domains of health-related quality of life.ConclusionPoor health related quality of life in the physical dimension, moderately poor overall health related quality of life and a moderate health related quality of life in the psychological health domain. Developing and providing intervention programs to enhance social support can lead to improved quality of life for patients, because of the long-term and chronic illness of the patient.
Association between social capital, health-related quality of life, and mental health: a structural-equation modeling approach
