The quality of life of Hansen’s disease patients in a medium-sized city

Abstract

Study model: cross-sectional study. Objectives: describe the epidemiological profile of HD patients in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, assess their quality of life and verify the association of quality of life with epidemiological and sociodemographic variables. Methods: In order to evaluate the quality of life, we applied the instrument proposed by the World Health Organization (WHOQOL-bref) and a questionnaire of the epidemiological profile built by the authors. The descriptive statistical analysis and the T-Student and Mann-Whitney tests were used. Participation consisted of 29 HD patients. Results: There was a predominance of married male patients with low education and income. The highest quality of life scores were found in social and psychological relationships; the environmental and physical factors obtained the lowest scores. We observed better quality of life in individuals over the age of 60, in social (p=0.0267) and environmental (p=0.0359) relationships; married, in the physical aspect (p=0.0495); and with low education, in the physical (p=0.03) and psychological (p=0.0084) aspects. Conclusions: The study demonstrated the aspects of vulnerability and support to HD patients, presenting better quality of life in elderly, married individuals with low education