Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and has a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life.
Objective: To assess the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Chitwan, Nepal.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted in a private hospital among 40 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Data were collected from June 8, 2014, to July 8, 2014, using a pretested instrument (α = 0.954) with 56 items answered on five-point rating scales. The total score varied from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: The mean score of the total quality of life was 54.97 ± 13.83, while 47.80 ± 16.66 was for physical, 59.26 ± 12.69 for social, and 59.51 ± 15.17 for psychological domains, which showed a higher impairment on physical health. In subscales, the mean score of quality of life was higher on social support (67.34 ± 12.30), whereas lower on symptoms (45.76 ± 19.09) and activities (48.44 ± 18.0 for social and 49.32 ± 16.84 for physical). The quality of life was significantly higher among the patients aged 60–69 years, literate, absence of comorbidity, absence of hospital admission, and not on regular medicine, whereas the quality of life was not associated with sex, marital status, residence, income, duration of diagnosis, and smoking status. Conclusion: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have an impaired quality of life on physical health com- pared with psychological and social health because of frequent symptoms and limitations on physical activities. Hence, physical health and factors affecting the quality of life need to be considered while planning interventions to improve the quality of life of patients.