IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i6p3228-d521062.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Community-Based Online Survey in Hong Kong

Author

Listed:
  • Edmond Pui Hang Choi

    (School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Bryant Pui Hung Hui

    (Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China)

  • Eric Yuk Fai Wan

    (Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
    Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Jojo Yan Yan Kwok

    (School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Tiffany Hei Lam Tam

    (LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Chanchan Wu

    (School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic itself and related public health measurements have had substantial impacts on individual social lives and psychological and mental health, all to the detriment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There have been extensive studies investigating the mental health of people in different populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have explored the impact of COVID-19 and its association with HRQoL. To fill this research gap and provide further empirical evidence, this study examined the impact of COVID-19 on Hong Kong people and evaluated its association with HRQoL. A total of 500 participants were randomly recruited to complete an online questionnaire on their concerns related to COVID-19. This entailed responding to the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF instrument. Data were collected between 24 April and 3 May 2020. Independent t-tests and multiple linear regressions were used to examine the association between the impact of COVID-19 and HRQoL. Overall, 69.6% of participants were worried about contracting COVID-19, and 41.4% frequently suspected themselves of being infected. Furthermore, 29.0% were concerned by the lack of disinfectants. All of these findings were associated with poorer HRQoL in the physical and psychological health, social relationships, and environment domains. On the other hand, 47.4% of participants were concerned that they may lose their job because of the pandemic, while 39.4% were bothered by the insufficient supply of surgical masks. These two factors were associated with poorer HRQoL in the physical and psychological health and environment domains. The adverse impact of COVID-19 on individuals is multifactorial, affecting all aspects of HRQoL. In addition to enhancing anti-epidemic efforts, it is equally important to implement public health and social welfare measures, thereby diminishing the adverse impact of COVID-19 on overall well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Edmond Pui Hang Choi & Bryant Pui Hung Hui & Eric Yuk Fai Wan & Jojo Yan Yan Kwok & Tiffany Hei Lam Tam & Chanchan Wu, 2021. "COVID-19 and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Community-Based Online Survey in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:6:p:3228-:d:521062
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3228/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3228/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eve Caroli & Mathilde Godard, 2016. "Does job insecurity deteriorate health?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 131-147, February.
    2. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Juan Gómez-Salgado & Montserrat Andrés-Villas & Sara Domínguez-Salas & Diego Díaz-Milanés & Carlos Ruiz-Frutos, 2020. "Related Health Factors of Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Yingfei Zhang & Zheng Feei Ma, 2020. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Quality of Life among Local Residents in Liaoning Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, March.
    5. Fahad D. Algahtani & Sehar-un-Nisa Hassan & Bandar Alsaif & Rafat Zrieq, 2021. "Assessment of the Quality of Life during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Julio Torales & Marcelo O’Higgins & João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia & Antonio Ventriglio, 2020. "The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(4), pages 317-320, June.
    7. Christian Bünnings & Jan Kleibrink & Jens Weßling, 2017. "Fear of Unemployment and its Effect on the Mental Health of Spouses," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 104-117, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Shuk Yu Hung & Liliane Chui King Chan & Sisi Pui Shan Liu, 2022. "The Health Impacts and Life Challenges Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hong Kong Chinese Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Manon Duay & Margot Morgiève & Hélène Niculita-Hirzel, 2021. "Sudden Changes and Their Associations with Quality of Life during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Study in the French-Speaking Part of Switzerland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-17, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maja Milošević Marković & Milan B. Latas & Srđan Milovanović & Sanja Totić Poznanović & Miloš M. Lazarević & Milica Jakšić Karišik & Jana Đorđević & Zoran Mandinić & Svetlana Jovanović, 2022. "Mental Health and Quality of Life among Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-12, October.
    2. Peng-Wei Wang & Nai-Ying Ko & Yu-Ping Chang & Chia-Fen Wu & Wei-Hsin Lu & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2020. "Subjective Deterioration of Physical and Psychological Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan: Their Association with the Adoption of Protective Behaviors and Mental Health Problems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Jerónimo J Gonzalez-Bernal & Paula Rodríguez-Fernández & Mirian Santamaría-Peláez & Josefa González-Santos & Benito León-del-Barco & Luis A. Minguez & Raúl Soto-Cámara, 2021. "Life Satisfaction during Forced Social Distancing and Home Confinement Derived from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-10, February.
    4. María Pilar Jiménez & Jennifer A. Rieker & José Manuel Reales & Soledad Ballesteros, 2021. "COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress as a Function of Age and Gender in a Spanish Sample," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Lígia Passos & Filipe Prazeres & Andreia Teixeira & Carlos Martins, 2020. "Impact on Mental Health Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal and Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-13, September.
    6. Alessandro Germani & Livia Buratta & Elisa Delvecchio & Claudia Mazzeschi, 2020. "Emerging Adults and COVID-19: The Role of Individualism-Collectivism on Perceived Risks and Psychological Maladjustment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-15, May.
    7. Marwah Ahmed Behisi & Hussain M. Altaweel & Reham F. Gassas & Mansour Aldehaiman & Abdulmajeed A. Alkhamees, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health Status of Saudi Citizens Living Abroad," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-17, July.
    8. Dana Alonzo & Marciana Popescu, 2022. "A qualitative examination of the mental health impact of Covid-19 in marginalized communities in Guatemala: The Covid Care Calls survey," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(7), pages 1435-1444, November.
    9. Martin Sanchez-Gomez & Gabriele Giorgi & Georgia Libera Finstad & Flavio Urbini & Giulia Foti & Nicola Mucci & Salvatore Zaffina & José M. León-Perez, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Event and Its Associations with Fear and Mental Health: A Cognitive-Activation Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Marilena Mousoulidou & Michailina Siakalli & Andri Christodoulou & Marios Argyrides, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health: Evidence from Cyprus," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-13, April.
    11. Xin Li & Peixin Lu & Lianting Hu & Tianhui Huang & Long Lu, 2020. "Factors Associated with Mental Health Results among Workers with Income Losses Exposed to COVID-19 in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-11, August.
    12. M. Dolores Merino & Coral Oliver-Hernández & M. Dolores Vallellano & Inmaculada Mateo, 2020. "Is It Possible to Find Something Positive in Being Confined Due to COVID-19? Implications for Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-10, December.
    13. Irene (Eirini) Kamenidou & Aikaterini Stavrianea & Spyridon Mamalis & Ifigeneia Mylona, 2020. "Knowledge Assessment of COVID-19 Symptoms: Gender Differences and Communication Routes for the Generation Z Cohort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-16, September.
    14. Ying Yang & Yanan Xiao & Yulu Liu & Qiong Li & Changshuo Shan & Shulin Chang & Philip H.-S. Jen, 2021. "Mental Health and Psychological Impact on Students with or without Hearing Loss during the Recurrence of the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-28, February.
    15. Juana Inés Gallego-Gómez & María Campillo-Cano & Aurora Carrión-Martínez & Serafín Balanza & María Teresa Rodríguez-González-Moro & Agustín Javier Simonelli-Muñoz & José Miguel Rivera-Caravaca, 2020. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Homebound Nursing Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-12, October.
    16. Brizeida Raquel Hernández-Sánchez & Giuseppina Maria Cardella & José Carlos Sánchez-García, 2020. "Psychological Factors that Lessen the Impact of COVID-19 on the Self-Employment Intention of Business Administration and Economics’ Students from Latin America," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-22, July.
    17. Minjung Lee & Myoungsoon You, 2020. "Psychological and Behavioral Responses in South Korea During the Early Stages of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-14, April.
    18. Christian M. Hafner, 2020. "The Spread of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Time and Space," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-13, May.
    19. María del Carmen Olmos-Gómez, 2020. "Sex and Careers of University Students in Educational Practices as Factors of Individual Differences in Learning Environment and Psychological Factors during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    20. Yen-Ju Lin & Yu-Ping Chang & Wen-Jiun Chou & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2021. "Explicit and Intrinsic Intention to Receive COVID-19 Vaccination among Heterosexuals and Sexual Minorities in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-10, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:6:p:3228-:d:521062. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.