Measuring quality of life among patients with urinary stone disease; A qualitative study

Abstract

Introduction: Urinary stone disease is considered one of the common causes of emergency hospital admissions. Understanding the patients’ perspectives on their quality of life is essential to evaluating the effectiveness of treatments and technologies. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the quality of life among patients with urinary stone disease. Patients and Methods: A qualitative design was utilized. A purposeful sampling method was used to select the patients. Around 30 participants from patients were selected. The data were collected using semi-structured open-ended interviews with patients. Thematic analysis was utilized to develop the themes. Results: The main themes included pain, other physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, diet, Job-related activities, daily activities and lifestyle, and social and sexual life. The results showed that pain, other physical symptoms, and changes in daily activities and lifestyle were the most reported negative life experiences. In contrast, job-related activities and psychological symptoms were the least reported negative life experience among patients with renal stone disease. The quality of life among patients with first stone former and ureteric stone was affected compared to patients with recurrent and/or renal stones. Conclusion: Our qualitative study provides deep insights into the impact of urinary stone disease on several aspects of quality of life. The findings are expected to aid in the development of patient-centered interventions for individuals suffering from urinary stone disease.