Eseigbe P, Asuke S, Nwankwo C G, Ibbi I E, Chima A A G, Eseigbe E E
Department of Family Medicine, Bingham University/Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
Department of Community Medicine, Bingham University/Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
West Afr J Med. 2022 Oct 20;39(10):1021-1025.
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused millions of mortalities globally. Although the prevalence and fatality rates of COVID-19 among adolescents is low, its impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is not adequately known. This study was carried out to determine the burden COVID-19 pandemic has on the HRQoL of adolescents.
A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among adolescents in public and private secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the schools and recruit the participants in April/May 2021. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire containing the participants' socio-demographic characteristics, questions on being burdened by COVID-19 pandemic, and the KIDSCREEN-10 tool for assessing the HRQoL. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and a p-value of < 0.05 was regarded as significant.
A total of 405 adolescents participated in the study with a mean age of 14.6 ± 2.06 years. Majority (52.8%) of the participants were girls. More than half (53.3%) of the participants reported being burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, 45.7% of the participants experienced a lower HRQoL. There was a statistically significant association between being burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic and their HRQoL (χ2 = 7.108, p = 0.01). In addition, the participants' HRQoL was significantly associated with their age (χ2= 5.112, p = 0.02).
This study highlights the significant burden of COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents' wellbeing. Therefore, there is the need to intensify health intervention strategies among adolescents to reduce the physical, emotional, and mental burden imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to optimize their quality of life.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）已在全球造成数百万例死亡。尽管COVID-19在青少年中的患病率和死亡率较低，但其对青少年健康相关生活质量（HRQoL）的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在确定COVID-19大流行对青少年HRQoL的负担。
在高原州乔斯北区公立和私立中学的青少年中开展了一项横断面描述性研究。2021年4月/5月采用多阶段抽样技术选择学校并招募参与者。使用一份自填问卷收集数据，问卷包含参与者的社会人口学特征、关于受COVID-19大流行影响的问题以及用于评估HRQoL的儿童生活质量量表-10（KIDSCREEN-10）工具。使用SPSS 25.0版对数据进行分析，p值<0.05被视为具有统计学意义。
共有405名青少年参与了该研究，平均年龄为14.6±2.06岁。大多数（52.8%）参与者为女孩。超过一半（约53.3%）的参与者报告称受到COVID-19大流行的影响。此外，45.7%的参与者HRQoL较低。受COVID-19大流行影响与他们的HRQoL之间存在统计学显著关联（χ2 = 7.108，p = 0.01）。此外，参与者的HRQoL与他们的年龄显著相关（χ2 = 5.112，p = 0.02）。
本研究突出了COVID-19大流行对青少年健康的重大负担。因此，有必要加强针对青少年的健康干预策略，以减轻COVID-19大流行带来的身体、情感和心理负担，从而优化他们的生活质量。
