Assessment of Health Related Quality of Life and Associated Factors among Hypertensive Patients on Treatment at Public Hospitals in Mekelle, North Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Hypertension is a prevalent and often asymptomatic chronic disease. Health related quality of life is emerging as an important outcome in hypertension. It can be adversely affected by hypertension itself and sideeffects of antihypertensive drugs. It is a multi-dimensional element of well-being affected by the physical, mental, emotional and social status of patients. The ability to identify indicators of poor health-related quality of life is crucial for both improving clinical care and determining targets of intervention for the prevention and treatment of disease. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess health related quality of life and identify associated factors. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted to assess health related quality of life of hypertensive patient. A total of 243 hypertensive patients were included in the study. The study assessed the health related quality of life using a generic tool short form-36. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were used as explanatory variables. In the multivariate analysis the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Result: The current study revealed that a very similar physical component (64.83) and mental component (64.88) summary mean score. This study has also shown that health related quality of life was significantly influenced by marital status, level of education of the study participants, duration of hypertension, blood pressure status and presence of health complaints. Conclusion: Health related quality of life in hypertensive patients is still suboptimal. Because of the fact that, patient education and enhanced information can lead to better health related quality of life in hypertension patient, health care professionals should pay due emphasis in educating the patient about the importance of controlling their blood pressure.