The ideal measurement of the quality of life in post stroke patients: An urban study

Objective: There is paucity of literature on the measurement of the quality of life in post stroke patients in the developing countries. The main objective of this study was to determine the quality of life (QOL) of post stroke patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 107 post stroke patients in two centers. The data was obtained during the period of January 2009 till May 2009 using purposive sampling method. A total of 68 males and 39 females participated in this study. Stroke Specific Quality Of Life (SS-QOL) version 2.0 was used. Cronbach's alpha values for SS-QOL ranged between 0.73 and 0.89. Results: The mean ± SD of the QOL score was 141.79 ± 40.32. The mean ± SD of the age was 65.47 ± 11.79 years. Result showed significant negative association between age and QOL of post stroke patients (r = - 0.199, p= 0.040). Domains mostly affected by stroke compared to pre-stroke were mobility (69%) and energy (64%). There were two domains in SS-QOL significantly predicted the QOL of post stroke patients. These domains were work and productivity (β= 2.277, t= 2.145, p= 0.035) and thinking (β= 1.927, t= 2.567, p= 0.012). Conclusion: Few items from this measurement tool may not be appropriate in a developing country because of the different cultural background. There is a need to develop appropriate post stroke patient measurement tool based on local practice.