Long-Term Management of Pediatric Chronic Diseases: Improving Quality of Life and Reducing Hospital Admissions in Children With Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, and Epilepsy.

BACKGROUND

Children who suffer from long-term illnesses, including asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, or epilepsy, sometimes struggle to manage their ailments, which affects their quality of life and how often they use healthcare services.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore comprehensive long-term management strategies for children with asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and epilepsy, with a focus on enhancing quality of life and reducing hospital admissions.

METHODOLOGY

A prospective cohort research was conducted involving 480 children, divided into four groups: 120 children with asthma, 120 children with cystic fibrosis, 120 children with diabetes, and 120 children with epilepsy. Participants were evaluated at baseline and at several follow-ups (3, 6, 12, and 24 months) across a 24-month period. Structured surveys, including questions on treatment adherence and quality of life metrics, as well as checks of medical records to monitor hospital admissions, were used to gather data. To investigate changes in hospital admission rates and quality of life scores over time, statistical analyses were performed, including paired t-tests. Statistical significance was defined as a p-value of less than 0.05.

RESULTS

Quality of life scores improved significantly for all groups, with asthma patients demonstrating the most significant increase of 12.53 ± 3.51 points, rising from a baseline score of 62.54 ± 14.03 to 75.07 ± 10.52 (p < 0.001). Hospital admissions also declined substantially, particularly in the asthma group, which reduced from 4.51 ± 2.07 to 2.06 ± 1.37 (p < 0.001). High adherence rates were observed among patients, with 85 (70.83%) in asthma, 90 (75.00%) in cystic fibrosis, 95 (79.17%) in diabetes, and 92 (76.67%) in epilepsy. Additionally, patient satisfaction scores were notably high, averaging 78.02 ± 10.07 in asthma, 80.03 ± 9.52 in cystic fibrosis, 82.21 ± 8.05 in diabetes, and 79.15 ± 9.03 in epilepsy across the different disease categories.

CONCLUSION

Children with chronic illnesses have a much higher quality of life and fewer hospital admissions when family engagement techniques and technology-driven monitoring are used.