Evaluation of disease related attitudes and quality of life in children with chronic illness

Aim This study was conducted as a descriptive method in order to evaluate the attitudes towards illness of children with chronic diseases and their quality of life. Method The population of the study consisted of children with a chronic illness who were admitted to the pediatrics outpatient clinic of a hospital located in a province in the north-east of Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 105 children who came to the hospital between October 2020 and June 2022, who met the criteria, and whose permission was obtained from themselves and their families. The study data were collected by using the ‘Introductory Information Form’, the ‘Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) (8-12 and 13-18 years)’ and the ‘Child Attitude Towards Illness Scale (CATIS)’. Data were analyzed using the SPSS for Windows 22 package program. Results The mean age of the children who participated in the study was 13.90 ± 2.55 and 73.3% of them were in the adolescent age group. The average PedsQL total score of the children participating in the research was 64.59 ± 18.99 and the average CATIS total score was 3.05 ± 0.71. Conclusion It was determined that as the quality of life of the children with chronic diseases in the study increased, their attitudes towards their diseases became more positive. Practice implications While caring for children with chronic diseases, nurses should consider that supporting the child's quality of life positively affects the child's attitude towards the disease.