Improvement of Health-related Quality of Life among the Children by School Nurse Program: A Nonrandomized Controlled...

Children's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) varies in their country's conditions, with physical and mental well-being challenges being more prevalent in low- and middle-income countries.

This study aimed to improve children's HRQoL through the school nurse program in Bangladesh.

A nonrandomized controlled trial with a pre- and posttest design was conducted in Bangladesh. A total of 455 primary schoolchildren consented to enroll and completed the entire study, and their data were analyzed.

Children were allocated into the control group (CG; n = 220) and the intervention group (IG; n = 235). Regarding household characteristics, most participants did not use water purification methods in both the groups (CG = 71.8% and IG = 73.2%). Subsequently, they had poor accessibility to handwashing facilities (CG = 39.5% and IG = 33.6%), with limited or no access to handwashing facilities. To explore the study's primary outcome, a t -test was used to compare the difference in HRQoL from endline to baseline between CG (mean = 25.12, standard deviation [SD] = 21.99) and IG (mean = 26.47, SD = 25.48), which showed no statistically significant difference between the groups ( P = 0.549). Furthermore, the T -score of HRQoL was improved chronologically in the IG compared with the CG.

Although children's HRQoL is influenced by various factors, it could be enhanced by an effective and sustainable school health program. Therefore, a collaborative initiative from the government and nongovernmental organizations is required to secure better HRQoL for children.