WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Swathy S. R., Amritha M. Nair, Vidhya Sudhakaran

ABSTRACT

Background of the study: Congenital heart diseases are abnormalities of cardiac structure that are present from birth. The abnormalities in the development of heart typically arise in the third to eighth week of gestation. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is now estimated to be the second most prevalent chronic illness. congenital heart defects can be detected at ultrasound but are sometimes not diagnosed until birth, which can cause stress and heightened emotion with in the family. A child’s chronic illness have effects that have pervasive consequences for family life. As the disease course progresses, the impact on parent’s health tends to decrease but the risk of developing long term psychological issues among the parents remains high, that causes significant reduction in quality of life. Methodology: To determine the quality of life, descriptive design was selected with quantitative research approach. Convenience sampling technique was used. Sample size of 200 were taken. Parents of children with congenital heart disease at selected hospital, Ernakulum were included in the study. Data collection instruments were included by using demographic proforma and WHO Quality of life Questionnaire to assess the quality of life among parents of children with congenital heart disease. Results: The findings show majority of the subjects had average level of quality of life due to the congenital heart diseases among their children. Conclusion: Present study suggests that the need for education /training program to improve quality of life and stress reduction for parents of children with congenital heart diseases.