Quality of Life in Patients with Acute Stroke: Comparison Between the Short Form 36 and the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale
Besey Ören1
, Neriman Zengin1, Selma Dağcı2
1University of Health Sciences Turkey, Hamidiye Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Midwifery, Istanbul, Turkey
2Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate, Department of Public Hospitals Service-2, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: HRQoL, neurology nursing, stroke, SS-QOL, SF-36, quality of life
Abstract
Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the Turkish version of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scales (SS-QOL) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Scale used to determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with stroke, to evaluate the effectiveness of both scales, and to determine whether these two scales differed according to sociodemographic characteristics in patients with stroke. HRQoL measurements are commonly used to quantify disease burden, to evaluate treatment method, and to facilitate benchmarking. The study had a descriptive and methodologic design.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with 205 patients who were hospitalized with the diagnosis of stroke and followed up for at least 48 hours in a neurology department of a hospital in Istanbul. The data of the study were collected using a form including 18 questions related to sociodemographic characteristics of the patients and the disease, and the SF-36 and SS-QOL scales. In the analysis of data, in addition to descriptive statistical methods, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used. Significance was evaluated at p<0.05. Approval of the institutional ethics committee was obtained.
Results: The mean age of the study group was 65.23±13.64 years. The study group consisted of primary school graduates (46.6%), married (75%), and unemployed (84.9%) patients. It was observed that the mean scores of SF-36 and SS-QOL subdimensions-apart from mental health-mood subdimensions-were higher than those of the SS-QOL, and both scales had higher internal consistencies, ranging between 0.74-0.97 for SS-QOL and 0.59-0.95 for SF-36. Also, there was a positive, and statistically significant correlation between the dimensions of the scales (p<0.05), and a moderate correlation existed between similar subdimensions (r=0.042-0.59).
Conclusion: Both scales can be used to evaluate the quality of life of patients with acute stroke. However, SS-QOL is recommended as a priority for patients with acute stroke.