Quality of life and spiritual health among parents of children after heart transplant in Iran

The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the quality of life (QoL) and spiritual health of parents of children after heart transplant in Iran.

The child and his family enter a new phase of life after a heart transplant. Assessing the QoL and spiritual health of parents can determine the psychological and health consequences for children and their families.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on 102 pairs of parents of children after heart transplantation in the hospitals Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center in Tehran, Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, and Razavi Hospital in Mashhad, using the consensus sampling method from November 2020 to June 2021. The questionnaires used in this study included the World Health Organization Quality of Life– BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and Spiritual Well-being Scale. Data were collected in the forms of face-to-face and network communication (WhatsApp and Telegram). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The mean score of QoL for mothers and fathers was 57.35±12.42 and 57.93±12.22, respectively. Also, the mean score of spiritual health for mothers and fathers was 90.68 ± 07.13 and 88.76 ± 12.78, respectively, which were considered as the average level. In general, these results may have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Parents' QoL had no statistically significant relationship with demographic variables of them and their children. Mothers' spiritual health had a statistically significant relationship with their education (P=0.034), employment status (P=0.002) and age (P=0.024). Regarding fathers, the spiritual health showed a statistically significant relationship with the child's gender (P=0.016) and the waiting time for transplantation (P=0.023).

No difference was observed between fathers and mothers of the children after heart transplant in terms of the variables of QoL and spiritual health. This can indicate the same pressure on both mother and father to take care of the child, especially in critical situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic. In this situation, the support of these families by nurses and health workers to follow up their child's treatment, making an appointment to visit or to better understand their conditions in case of problems is of particular importance. More studies are needed to clarify the situation of these children and their families.