Sickle cell disease (SCD) can significantly impair the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents. This review aimed to assess current evidence regarding the HRQOL of children and adolescents with SCD in the Middle East and North Africa region. A systematic search of various databases was conducted to identify relevant articles, including MEDLINE® (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, USA), Scopus® (Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature®, Masader (Oman Virtual Science Library, Muscat, Oman) and EBSCOhost (EBSCO Information Services, Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA). A total of 533 articles were identified; however, only 10 were eligible for inclusion in the final analysis. Results from these studies showed that children and adolescents with SCD had compromised HRQOL compared to their healthy peers, particularly in terms of physical, psychosocial, familial, financial and academic functioning. Therefore, interventions are necessary to improve overall HRQOL outcomes for this population. Keywords: Sickle Cell Disease; Health-Related Quality Of Life; Infants; Children; Adolescents; Middle East; North Africa.

Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the emerging health issues in Asian countries in elderly population. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a major age related public health issue characterized by progressive loss of articular cartilage resulting in pain, functional impairment, disability and diminished quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Isometric exercise and counseling on level of pain among patients with KOA. Methods Quantitative research approach and a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group research design was utilized. The study was conducted at MIOT hospital and Devadoss Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Data was collected from a total of 200 patients with KOA, 100 in the study and 100 in the control group. These patients were clinically diagnosed to have Grade I, II and III KOA. The demographic variables and clinical profile were recorded for both groups. The self-administered WOMAC questionnaire was used to assess the level of pain of KOA patients. Post-test assessment was carried out on Day 15, Day 30, Day 60 and Day 90. The data was analyzed using SPSS windows 16. Results The comparison of level of pain between the study and control group has showed a remarkable reduction in level of pain among patients with KOA in the study group. The post-test level of pain in the study group was 14.9% (13.3% -16.5% with 95% CI) and was 2.1% (1.2% -3.0% with 95% CI) in the control group. It showed that the reduction in the level of pain was higher in the study group than the control group. Conclusion The study found that a 12-week Isometric exercise and counseling program has significantly reduced pain, stiffness and improved physical function. Therefore, the Isometric exercise and counselling should be adopted as a routine care in the hospitals treating patients with KOA.

Introduction. The children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) generally have poor Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse led intervention on HRQOL among children with SCD. Methods. A total of 30 samples were selected using convenient sampling. Children with SCD and their caregivers completed Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) SCD-Module version 3.0. The nurse led intervention was given to the study group for 10 consecutive weeks. The control group received the routine medical care. On completion of 10 weeks, the post-test was conducted. Results. The participants in study group had poor HRQOL scores P>0.05 in pre-test. After nurse led intervention, the HRQOL score in the study group significantly improved P<0.05. The control group did not show any significant difference in the pretest and post-test. Discussion. Therefore nurse led intervention is effective in improving HRQOL among children with SCD.