title: Health-Related Quality of Life and Associated Factors in Intensive Care Unit Survivors 6 Months After Discharge.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intensive care unit survivors often have diminished health-related quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe health-related quality of life of former intensive care patients and identify associated factors 6 months after hospital discharge.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six months after discharge, 193 patients from an intensive care unit completed the Short Form-36 Health Survey; measures of sleep; Intensive Care Experience Questionnaire; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales; and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Norm-based scores were calculated for the Short Form-36. Bivariate associations with Short Form-36 scores were tested by using the Pearson correlation. Multiple linear regression was used to identify independent associations with health-related quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All scores on the Short Form-36 (physical component summary, 41.8; mental component summary, 48.2) were less than population norms. Bivariate associations with health-related quality of life (P < .05) were scores on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, hospital length of stay, awareness of surroundings and frightening experiences, depression, anxiety, stress, posttraumatic symptoms, and sleep quality at 2 and 6 months. In linear regression, scores on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, hospital length of stay, and sleep quality at 6 months were independently associated with Short Form-36 physical summary scores (P < .001); depression and stress were independently associated with mental summary scores (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sleep, depression, and stress are potential targets for interventions to improve health-related quality of life and improve recovery.
authors.affiliation: Sharon McKinley is a nurse researcher in the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Mary Fien is a business analyst, eHealth NSW, Sydney, Australia. Rosalind Elliott and Doug Elliott are members of the faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. sharonmckinley@optusnet.com.au.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McKinley
authors.affiliation: Sharon McKinley is a nurse researcher in the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Mary Fien is a business analyst, eHealth NSW, Sydney, Australia. Rosalind Elliott and Doug Elliott are members of the faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fien
authors.affiliation: Sharon McKinley is a nurse researcher in the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Mary Fien is a business analyst, eHealth NSW, Sydney, Australia. Rosalind Elliott and Doug Elliott are members of the faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: Sharon McKinley is a nurse researcher in the intensive care unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Mary Fien is a business analyst, eHealth NSW, Sydney, Australia. Rosalind Elliott and Doug Elliott are members of the faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Elliott
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001364:Awareness; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012890:Sleep; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors