Assessment of quality of life among patients with type II diabetes mellitus at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi
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Date
2021-01-13
Authors
Journal Title
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Publisher
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
Abstract
Study type
This is a convergent mixed methods study with both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Quantitatively, a cross section descriptive study design will be employed. For qualitative data, a
phenomenological approach will be used
The Problem to be studied
Diabetes mellitus is a complex and chronic disease with multiple complications leading to
increased mortality and poor quality of life. Unfortunately, Majority of guidelines on diabetes
care focus on the medical aspects of initial management without addressing other needs e.g.
psychological well-being. This results in poor outcomes in diabetes patient management and
hence poor quality of life. Current studies have found that health related quality of life is
instrumental to the delivery of care and it is recognized as being an inclusive term that assesses
both self-reported mental and physical functioning of an individual. However health related
quality of life assessment is not incorporated in diabetes management in Malawi. Furthermore,
no study on assessment of quality of life among type II diabetes mellitus patients has been
conducted in Malawi.
Objectives
The main objective of this study is to assess the quality of life among patients with type II
diabetes mellitus receiving treatment at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. The
specific objectives are to describe physical, psychological and social challenges faced by
patients with type II diabetes mellitus and to determine ways of addressing the challenges to
improve quality of life.
Methodology
This will be a convergent mixed methods study in which both qualitative and quantitative data
will be collected. Quantitatively, cross section design will be employed and data will be collected
using the Modified Diabetes Quality of Life (MDQoL) -17 questionnaire. Phenomenological
approach will be used for qualitative data and will be collected through in-depth interviews with
patients and guardians using an interview guide. The interviews will be tape recorded. Diary
method and emotional mapping will also be used to capture qualitative data. Demographic
characteristics for example age and gender will be collected as well as duration of diabetes
history, body weight and presence or absence of complications. The common diabetes
complications are; nephropathy, retinopathy, erectile dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy, heart
problems for example coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and peripheral vascular disease. These variables will be collected using a demographic data
form. Quality of life values as given by the MDQoL-17 questionnaire will also be collected. This
questionnaire has 17 diabetic specific questions that are classified into 8 concepts. These
concepts are; physical, social functioning, role limitations due to personal and emotional
problems, psychological impact, energy/fatigue, bodily pain and general health perceptions.
After data collection, STATA software will be used for analysis. Furthermore, multiple regression
model will be employed to draw conclusions from the quantitative data. Analysis for qualitative
data will be done manually using thematic content analysis.
Expected findings and dissemination
It is expected that the results of this study will reveal: physical, psychological and social
challenges that diabetes patients encounter. It will further identify precipitating factors to these
problems and come up with evidence-based policies to help solve the problems. Furthermore,
the results will act as an eye opener to incorporate health related quality of life assessment in
diabetes management. Results from this study will be disseminated at College of Medicine
Research Ethics Committee (COMREC), at the students’ research dissemination conference in
the health systems and policy department at College of Medicine, College of Medicine Research
Dissemination Conference, and Kamuzu Central hospital as well as published in the Malawi
Medical Journal (MMJ). A copy of the dissertation will also be submitted to College of
Medicine’s Library.
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Keywords
Research Subject Categories::MEDICINE