1Department of Nursing, Samsung Medical Center 2Department of Nursing. Chung-Ang University
Abstract
Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the factors influencing the quality of life among the patients with Crohn's disease. Method: Data were collected from 97 Crohn's disease patients between September 17 and October 20 in 2009. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS program. Results: There were significant differences in the participants' quality of life depending on their age, economic status, pain, diarrhea, weight loss, Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), and use of medications such as antidiarrhotica, steroid, and analgesics. The results also showed the correlations between the participants' qualities of life and thier pain, CDAI, anxiety, depression, perceived health condition, and of body image. Finally, the factors affecting the quality of life in patients with Crohn's disease included anxiety, perceived health state, pain, and CDAI. The explanatory power of these factors was 79.5%. Conclusion: The results imply that controlling the patients' pain and providing emotional support for anxiety reduction are crucial. In a similar vein, tailored nursing interventions considering individual patients' conditions are believed to help the patients positively perceive their disease. A future research, can conduct further investigations of these factors from more diverse perspectives, which is expected to promote more effective nursing strategies for Crohn's disease patients.
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