Psychological distress, General health and Life satisfaction among children with Thalassemia and children undergoing Haemodialysis.

Objective: To compare and find out the relationship between psychological distress, general health and life satisfaction among children with thalassemia and children undergoing dialysis.

Method: The current study utilized cross sectional research design. A representative group of children with Thalassemia (n=60) and children undergoing dialysis (n=60) with ages ranging from 6-14 years were included in the sample. The sample was drawn from Children's Hospital and Sundas Foundation from February 2023 to August 2023 through a purposive sampling technique.

Results: Psychological distress significantly correlates negatively with general health (-.34**) and life satisfaction (-.44**) in Children with Thalassemia. A significant negative relationship is also observed between psychological distress and general health (-.43**) and life satisfaction (-.54**) in Children undergoing Hemodialysis. Children undergoing hemodialysis experience more psychological distress whereas children with thalassemia have better general health. However, no significant difference was found in life satisfaction. The findings of the present study will be helpful for healthcare professionals and clinical psychologists to develop strategies and training programs which can increase resilience among patients. Training the patients and caregivers regarding how to fight chronic illnesses will lead to an improvement in their quality of life.

Conclusion: Psychological distress is higher in children undergoing hemodialysis and general health is also not good but the level of satisfaction is almost equal between the two groups. This is justified that chronic illnesses do not preclude children from leading happy and satisfying lives.