Quality of life and morbidity profile of patients with chronic medical diseases treated with herbal medicine at a municipal hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Background: Chronic diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide that profoundly affect the quality of life of individuals. Quality of life assessment is crucial for developing effective interventions and policies aimed at improving patient outcomes and overall well-being.  This study aimed to determine the quality of life of chronic disease patients treated with herbal medicine and their morbidity profile.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done at the herbal clinic of the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly Hospital in the greater Accra region of Ghana from March to June 2019.  A consecutive sampling method was used. Data was collected through the administration of a structured questionnaire.  Data was analysed using STATA 16.  The level of significance used was p <0.05.

Results: The qualities of life from the transformed mean scores of the four domains were good in physical health (51.33±15.91), psychological health (57.18±15.74), and environmental domain (55.72±13.82) but poor in social relationships (50.18±15.44).  There was a significant association between the quality of life and physical health (p<0.05), psychological factors (p<0.05), social relationships (p=0.029) and environmental factors (p<0.05). 

Conclusion: The most frequent chronic disease presenting for herbal treatment in this study is hypertension. Patients with chronic diseases treated with herbal medicine had good transformed mean scores of quality of life (QOL) in the physical health, psychological domain, and environmental domain; however, only 44.1% of the participants rated their overall QOL as good.