Coping and Satisfaction with Growth Hormone Treatment among Short-Stature Children

The ability of children to cope with a chronic medical problem requiring prolonged treatment has an effect on the quality of life of these children and of their parents and serves as an index of the quality of treatment. This study deals with coping ability and satisfaction with treatment of children whose stature was two or more SD below the average for age and gender. The study population included 96 patients, 53 of whom were male, who were on growth hormone (GH) treatment for at least 1 year. 65 patients were without any underlying disease, 15 had classical GH deficiency and 16 had Turner syndrome or renal disease. All patients were treated with daily injections at home from 12 to 66 months. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the ability to cope and the degree of satisfaction and compliance with treatment were assessed. No significant differences were found with respect to gender, the presence of an underlying disease, age at which treatment commenced or duration of treatment. Despite the fact that the outcome of GH treatment on final height has yet to be established, satisfaction and compliance were high.