Healthcare Utilization and the Quality of Life of Children and
Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease
Abstract
Introduction: Youth diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) often
utilize the healthcare setting to manage disease-related symptoms, yet
the connection between healthcare use and their overall wellbeing has
been understudied. This study investigates whether healthcare
utilization predicts the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in youth
with SCD. It is hypothesized that increased healthcare utilization will
predict lower HRQOL in pediatric SCD. Methods: A total of 150 patients,
ages 8-17 years old, were enrolled in this cross-sectional quantitative
study. Patients completed the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) 3.0 SCD
module, while the researcher conducted a retrospective chart review to
gather patient characteristics such as emergency room (ER) and
hospitalization occurrences over the past 12 months. Results: A higher
frequency of ER visits (p < .05) and hospitalizations (p
< .01) predicted lower HRQOL scores. Age (p < .05)
also emerged as a significant predictor for both regression models.
Discussion: As youth with SCD require ER treatment and/or hospital
admission, they are at increased risk for lower HRQOL, specifically as
they get older.