Affiliations 

  • 1 International Islamic University Malaysia
  • 2 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
MyJurnal

Abstract

Life (QOL) of patients with childhood leukaemias presenting at the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM). The objectives of this pilot study were 1) To assess the feasibility and applicability of assessing quality of life in leukaemia patients using the adult-based SF-36 questionnaire. 2) To compare the differences of QOL scores among patients based on gender and treatment status. The Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF36) was used. The items in SF-36 were drawn from the original 245-item MOS questionnaire, which includes multi-item scales that measured the eight dimensions of quality of life namely physical function, role limitations (physical problems), bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitations (emotional problems) and mental health. Patients with acute leukaemias were chosen to participate in the study. Twenty-eight patients were recruited, twelve were males and 16 were females. Ten patients had completed therapy whilst 18 others were still undergoing treatment. The results showed that those patients off treatment have a better quality of life than those on chemotherapy. However, this was only significant with respect to the role limitation pertaining to physical problems. Although the use of the SF-36 was feasible, there were limitations especially in the younger age group.

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