The quality of life of stroke outpatients at Srinagarind Hospital.

BACKGROUND

Stroke, a disease of the cerebral blood vessels, is known as paralysis disease in Thailand and is a major public health problem. Stroke is a chronic disease with a lengthy development, leading to a paralytic state in which the patient faces obstacles doing his/her daily routine and needs to depend upon others. Expenses are for both in hospital treatment and homecare. A study on the quality of life of stroke outpatients was conducted in order to plan assistance to patients, both at the family and health service unit level. The present study represents the first of its kind performed at Srinagarind Hospital.

OBJECTIVE

To study the quality of life of stroke outpatients at Srinagarind Hospital.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive research.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A questionnaire was constructed by the researchers, the content and methodology of which was checked by experts. The first section collects personal information and the second the quality of life using the SF-36 rating scale, which has been used on many chronic patients in ten different countries and both the English and Thai versions who have undergone validity testing.

RESULTS

The stroke outpatients were between 20 and 91 years of age (mean, 64 +/- 12.8). Most (31.6%) were diagnosed with cerebral infarction, with a Modified Rankin Score of 1. Concurrent diseases included hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, respectively. The quality of life was relatively good in all tested aspects. The highest scoring category was mental health and role emotional, which accounted for 69.5 and 68.0 percentage, respectively. The worst two categories reported were vitality and general health, both accounting for 60.0%, which had an impact on self esteem, exacerbated if the patients felt tired, exhausted and/or believed their lives were becoming worse.

CONCLUSION

The present study can be used to improve the management of stroke out-patient services. It is recommended that a healthcare team be set up at the hospital clinic to provide assistance for dealing with both feelings and emotions.