Quality of Life and Pain Management in Patients After Gunshot Wounds

Abstract

Introduction. In 1948, the World Health Organization defined health as not only the absence of disease but also the presence of physical, psychological and social well-being. Quality of life is a somewhat new concept borrowed from sociology, where it is understood as the ability of an individual to function in society in accordance with his or her position and to enjoy it. A number of researchers have studied the quality of life of patients after injuries, but there are very few results in Ukraine. Given the increasing number of patients with gunshot wounds, our study aims to highlight this issue, as it will be of national importance in the long term.
 The aim is to study the level of quality of life in patients after gunshot wounds.
 Materials and methods. The treatment of 769 patients was analyzed. The level of quality of life was studied using the Chaban quality of life scale (CQLS). The groups were compared by the Mann-Whitney test and the chi-square test.
 Results. The CQLS diagnosis indicates that at the time of discharge from inpatient treatment, the quality of life was at a high level (76 points), but then, 1 month after discharge, it decreased to a low level (64 points) and did not change in the following months – 3, 6 and 12 months.
 Conclusions. The results of the study indicate that more attention should be paid to the problem of quality of life in patients after gunshot wounds and that we should strive to study this issue and identify new ways to improve the situation. In our opinion, one of the factors that affect the quality of life is the formation of chronic pain, which requires further study.