Health Status of Persons with Hemophilia: A Pilot Survey from a Resource-Constrained Country

BACKGROUND: Most resource-poor countries are yet to develop standard hemophilia treatment center (HTC) despite improved outcome of health status of persons with hemophilia (PWH). AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the health status of PWH in Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, modified prevalidated and pretested questionnaire (National health and Nutrition examination survey (NHANES) 2013 Health Status questionnaire (HSQ)) was consecutively administered to consenting PWH (pediatric and adult) attending the 2018 Annual General Meeting of the Haemophilia Foundation of Nigeria. The study's measurable outcome variables were calculated health status and its determinants. Association between the outcome variables and clinical characteristics of PWH was done using SPSS software version 22, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 36 PWH who participated in the survey, 50% had good health status, 38.9% had poor health status, while only 11.1% had excellent health status. A majority (88.9%) had access to HTC with <6 consultations in the past year. Nearly 47.2% were hospitalized for disease-related problem in the past year. There was nonsignificant difference between health status and disease type (P = 0.751) and severity (P = 0.086), treatment plan (0.496), type of treatment facility (P = 0.152), and access to a doctor (P = 0.67). CONCLUSION: Several PWH in resource-poor settings still suffer serious morbidity that impacts negatively on their health status. More robust (multicenter) research is needed to ascertain the true picture of health status of PWH in resource-poor countries.