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Background Quality of life (QOL) is a good indicator of lifespan, especially for individuals who are suffering from a particular illness. QOL among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) could be used for further implementations in addition to improving patient care and disease management, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess QOL and identify factors associated with a good QOL among DM patients in northern Thailand. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to gather information from DM patients attending six randomly selected hospitals in the Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. A validated questionnaire and the 26-item quality of life brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to collect socioeconomic factors and assess QOL, respectively. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to detect the associations between variables at a significance level of α = 0.05. Results A total of 967 participants were enrolled in the study: 58.8% were female, 52.3% were aged ≥ 60 years, 79.7% graduated primary school and had no additional education, 68.7% had an annual income ≤ 50,000 baht, and 29.3% were unemployed. The majority of patients had a poor-to-moderate overall QOL (49.4%); 90.1% reported a moderate QOL in the physical domain, 54.7% reported a moderate QOL in the mental domain, 63.4% reported a good QOL in the social relationship domain, and 50.6% reported a good QOL in the environmental domain. In multivariate analysis, seven variables were found to be associated with good QOL among the participants. Those aged ≤ 59 years had 1.90 times (95% CI 1.32–2.73) greater odds of having good QOL than those aged ≥ 60. Those who had annual income ≥ 100,001 baht had 2.16 times (95% CI 1.17–3.96) greater odds of having good QOL than those who had annual income ≤ 50,000 baht. Those who lived alone and with spouses had 3.38 times (95% CI 1.42–8.02) and 2.20 times (95% CI 1.20–4.02) greater odds of having good QOL, respectively, than those who lived with relatives. Those who exercised regularly had 4.72 times (95% CI 2.71–8.19) greater odds of having good QOL than those who never exercised. Those who had a high level of knowledge regarding prevention and care had 3.26 times (95% CI 1.22–5.55) greater odds of having good QOL than those who had low knowledge. Those who did not have diabetic nephropathy had 7.41 times (95% CI 4.99–11.01) greater odds of having good QOL than those who were diagnosed with diabetic nephropathy, and those whose medical fees were supported by the government under the universal scheme had 4.31 times (95% CI 1.15–16.7) greater odds of having good QOL than those who had to support themselves. Conclusions Almost a half of DM patients in northern Thailand reported having a low-to-moderate QOL, which can be improved by focusing on socioeconomic factors, family support as well as improving knowledge regarding DM prevention and care, including the support of medical fees.

Background Orphans and vulnerable adolescents (OVAs) living in child care homes (CCHs) are vulnerable to depressive symptoms due to a poor environment and a lack of receiving good care and love from their parents. This study aimed to estimate the presence of depressive symptoms and determine factors associated with it among OVAs living in CCHs in Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect the information from OVAs aged 13–17 years living in 22 CCHs from five districts of Nepal. The CCHs were selected by a simple random method. A validated questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were used to assess depressive symptoms among the participants. Those with mild to severe BDI-II scores were defined as having clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Logistic regression was used to detect associations between variables at the significance level α = 0.05. Results A total of 602 adolescents participated in the study; 51.0% were females, the average age was 14.7 years, and 32.2% were members of indigenous groups. The overall presence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms was 33.2%. After controlling for all potential confounding factors, five factors were found to be associated with depress among OVAs. Females were 1.96 times more likely to develop depressive symptoms than males (95% CI = 1.36–2.83). Those adolescents who used alcohol were 3.42 times more likely to develop depressive symptoms than those who did not (95% CI = 1.16–10.12). Those who had health problems were 2.00 times more likely to develop depressive symptoms than those who did not (95% CI = 1.36–2.94). Those who had low social support were 1.81 times more likely to develop depressive symptoms than those who had high social support (95% CI = 1.08–3.03), and those who had been bullied were 1.97 times more likely to develop depressive symptoms than those who were not bullied (95% CI = 1.23–3.15). Conclusion The magnitude of clinically relevant depressive symptoms in adolescents living in CCHs was found to be high in Nepal. There is an urgent need for effective intervention to curtail this problem among OVAs in CCHs in Nepal, with a focus on females, alcohol users, those with physical health problems and with less social support, and those who are bullied.

Background COVID-19 has exerted a variety of impacts on people, particularly people with limited education living in poor economic settings. This study investigates the impacts of and adaptations to COVID-19 among the hill tribe people of northern Thailand. Methods A qualitative method was used to elicit information from key informants who lived in a hill tribe village in Mae Fah Laung district, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Fourteen questions on two issues were used to gather information, and an NVivo program was used to extract the findings. Results A total of 57 hill tribe villagers participated, including 36 females and 21 males (mean age of 50.1 years, min = 20 and max = 90). Twenty-seven individuals were Thai Yai, 14 were Yunan Chinese, eight were Akha, and eight were members of other minor tribes. Regarding education and occupation, 30 individuals were illiterate, while 27 had attended different levels of primary school; 40 individuals were unemployed, 13 were employed as daily wage workers and farmers, and the other 4 were attending school. Three age categories were used to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: impact of access to the educational system among the young, loss of jobs and family financial problems among the working, and access to medical care for the elderly. Six adaptation stages in response to the COVID-19 crisis were observed among the hill tribe people: shock stage with no prior experience, looking for help from health and other agencies, considering the national lockdown policy, complying with prevention and control measures, reducing stressful situations and following the new normal approach, and addressing suffering points at home and elsewhere. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted different impacts on different age categories among the hill tribe population living in remote and border areas. Effective adaptations have been implemented to address the new normal life under the disease, and six adaptation stages have been identified that have helped them survive the greatest threat to humankind today.