Coping strategies among patients in a tertiary hospital: associations with quality of life and mental wellbeing

Abstract

Background: Coping is essential for adjusting to life's stresses to optimize wellbeing. This study examined associations between coping, quality of life, and psychological wellbeing among adult patients seen in the primary care clinic of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we elicited information from 230 subjects that were selected using systematic sampling. Four instruments were administered: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Coping Strategies Inventory – short form (CSI-SF), the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQOL-Bref) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Pearson correlation and logistic regression were done using IBM SPSS version 23.0. Results: Most subjects were less than 30 years old (54.3%) and female (53.0%). Problem-focused engagement positively correlated with all QOL domains and associated negatively with depression (p<0.05). Emotion-focused engagement positively correlated with the psychological and environmental domains (p<0.05). Emotion-focused disengagement negatively correlated with the physical, psychological, and social domains and positively correlated with anxiety and depression (p<0.05). Problem-focused disengagement positively correlated with the psychological domain and negatively correlated with depression (p<0.05). In logistic regression, emotion-focused disengagement was the only predictor of psychiatric diagnosis (OR: 1.05, 95%, CI: 1.01-1.09). Conclusion: Coping strategies are linked to life quality and mental wellness. More research is advocated to explore the observed interrelationship further