Wellbeing, quality of life and satisfaction of patients with hard-to-heal wounds: a descriptive study.

OBJECTIVE: A hard-to-heal wound is defined as a wound that failed to proceed through the normal phases of wound healing in an orderly and timely manner. The purpose of this article is to describe the impact of hard-to-heal wounds on the wellbeing, quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction with QoL of patients in Oman with hard-to-heal wounds. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study of patients with hard-to-heal wounds attending three tertiary care hospitals using a self-reported questionnaire was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 275 patients took part in the study. Patients reported a low wellbeing score (67.06±19.72), moderate QoL score (52.18±25.07) and moderate satisfaction scores (68.91±23.88). Significant mean differences were reported with age, sex, educational level, monthly income and type of wound all at p<0.05. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that hard-to-heal wounds could influence the wellbeing, QoL and overall satisfaction with QoL of patients. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: Funding was received through an internal grant of the Sultan Qaboos University to conduct the research conducting the research (IG/CON/FACN/20/01). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

A domain specific health-related quality of life of omani patients living with chronic wounds.

AIM: Chronic wounds, defined as wounds that do not heal in a logical set of stages, impact patients' quality of life by disrupting their self-esteem, sleep, social interaction, work capacity, and psychological well-being. Chronic wounds are a prevalent problem in Oman due to the high number of patients with diabetes, sickle cell disease, road traffic accidents, and decubitus ulcer. Therefore, it is paramount to analyse the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of these patients with chronic wounds. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study with a quantitative approach was conducted among 275 adult patients with chronic wounds in three tertiary hospitals of Muscat from June to December 2021 using a self-reported Cardiff life wound impact questionnaire and the Bates-Jensen wound assessment tool. Data were analysed with IBM SPSS version 23 using inferential statistics and chi-square test. RESULTS: We found that the majority of participants were men (178; 64.7 %), aged between 41 and 60 years (107; 38.9 %), predominantly with diabetic wounds (80; 29.1 %). Respondents reported poor HRQOL across all domains: well-being (63.24 ± 18.092), physical (53.24 ± 18.387), and social (59.54 ± 19.025). Statistically significant poorer HRQOL was observed among the elderly above 60 years, illiterates, those with traumatic wounds, and those receiving medication and dressing as treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that Omani patients with chronic wounds experience low HRQOL. It is imperative for healthcare providers to offer comprehensive care to these patients. To enhance their quality of life and alleviate suffering, evaluating both the wounds and HRQOL is essential. Such assessments will enable the optimisation of treatment and coping strategies for patients.

Health-related Quality of Life of People with Multiple Sclerosis in Oman.

OBJECTIVES: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling neurological disorder with significant adverse effects on patients' quality of life (QoL). Despite the increased prevalence of MS in Arabian Gulf countries in recent years, no study has assessed the impact of MS on the health-related QoL (HRQoL) of Omani patients. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of MS on HRQoL of Omani patients using the validated disease-specific self-administered MS International QoL (MusiQoL) instrument. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey between April and December 2019 on 177 Omani patients with MS attending Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and Khoula Hospital in Oman using the MusiQoL instrument. RESULTS: The majority (51.4%) of patients had poor HRQoL, and 48.6% had moderate HRQoL. We found that being > 30 years, female, married, separated, widowed, or divorced, and having visual and sleep problems resulted in poorer HRQoL scores. Among the different HRQoL components, relationships with the healthcare system and relationships with family and friends were the most affected by the disease process. Our results also showed that psychological wellbeing and coping domains of MusiQoL questionnaires are significantly reduced in females compared to males. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the HRQoL of Omanis with MS provides valuable knowledge that could help optimize the management of this disease.