Health-related quality of life of patients of Brazilian primary health care

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To analyze the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of patients of the primary health care of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and its associated factors.METHODS This is a cross-sectional study with data from the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos – Serviços, 2015 (PNAUM – National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines – Services, 2015). Data were collected with a questionnaire that included the EuroQol 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) instrument. Patients from the five regions of Brazil were interviewed. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze their Health-Related Quality of Life and its associated factors.RESULTS Of the total of 8,590 patients, the most frequent dimensions were pain/discomfort (50.7%) and anxiety/depression (38.8%). About 10% of the patients reported extreme problems in these dimensions. The following factors were significantly associated with a worse quality of life: being female; having arthritis, osteoarthritis, or rheumatism; cerebrovascular accident; heart disease; depression; health self-assessment as poor or very poor; drinking alcoholic beverages once or more per month; dieting to lose weight, avoiding salt consumption, and reducing fat intake. Significant association was observed between a better quality of life and: living in the North and Southeast regions of Brazil; practicing physical activities; and having a higher educational level. No association was observed with factors related to the health services.CONCLUSIONS The Health-Related Quality of Life of patients was influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors that were related to health conditions and lifestyle, being useful to guide specific actions for promoting health and the integral care to patients of the Brazilian Unified Health System.

Health-related quality of life among patients with hypertension: population-based survey using EQ-5D-5L in Hong Kong SAR, China

“…In particular, its new version of EQ-5D with five-level scale, namely EQ-5D-5L, has been highly suggested due to its ability to reduce the ceiling effect. The good validity and reliability of EQ-5D-5L in certain chronic conditions have been demonstrated 14–17. However, the relative effects of hypertension and related comorbidity on HRQoL using EQ-5D-5L in HK have been rarely explored.…”

Access to dental services and oral health-related quality of life in the context of primary health care

“…14 With this context in mind, PHC, when seen as a strategy able to provide health services in an equitable and efficient manner and to organize the access to health systems, PHC have the potential to influence the quality of life and to reduce vulnerability as well as health risks of individuals. 15,16 Several studies have approached the relationship between OHRQoL and clinical variables in different populations. 9,17,18,19 Nevertheless, the relationship bet ween the characteristics of PHC services, such as access to oral health, and OHRQoL of those who use these services remains unknown.…”

Quality of Life and Osteoporotic Alterations in Patients with and without Low Bone Mineral Density: A Retrospective Study

“…Regarding the environment (domain 4), in which domain scores were higher for osteoporotic patients than for non-osteoporotic, a different result was expected, mainly when considering the quality of and access to health services in Brazil, which is influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors [25] including inequalities in the utilization of health services. The scores found in this domain may not be associated with the presence or absence of the osteoporosis itself, but with the locality in which the patient lives, and factors such as security, financial resources, or transportation.…”