PURPOSE: To longitudinally characterize child survivors' quality of life after a massive earthquake in low- and middle-income settings. METHODS: Population-based surveys were conducted in the severely affected areas 15 and 36 months after the earthquake, using a multi-stage systematic sampling design. RESULTS: A total of 596 participants were included in the initial assessment, of which 430 were re-surveyed in the follow-up assessment. For both assessments, means of the PedsQL total and subscale scores fell significantly below the general healthy children (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Reduction in PedsQL total scores was observed from the initial to the follow-up assessment (82.2 vs. 80.3, P = 0.01). In regression analysis, mental health symptoms were examined as the biggest contributors for PedsQL scores, and girls and older children were found to report lower PedsQL scores than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Health-related quality of life among child and adolescent survivors decreased over time. Besides helping children with identified risk experiences, attention should also be allocated to children without specific traumatic experiences, since the earthquake may have a delayed effect on them.
PURPOSE: To longitudinally characterize child survivors' quality of life after a massive earthquake in low- and middle-income settings. METHODS: Population-based surveys were conducted in the severely affected areas 15 and 36 months after the earthquake, using a multi-stage systematic sampling design. RESULTS: A total of 596 participants were included in the initial assessment, of which 430 were re-surveyed in the follow-up assessment. For both assessments, means of the PedsQL total and subscale scores fell significantly below the general healthy children (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Reduction in PedsQL total scores was observed from the initial to the follow-up assessment (82.2 vs. 80.3, P = 0.01). In regression analysis, mental health symptoms were examined as the biggest contributors for PedsQL scores, and girls and older children were found to report lower PedsQL scores than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Health-related quality of life among child and adolescent survivors decreased over time. Besides helping children with identified risk experiences, attention should also be allocated to children without specific traumatic experiences, since the earthquake may have a delayed effect on them.