ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the health-related quality of life and coping strategies among COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 2198 adult, male was 72.38% (n=1591) and female 27.6% (n=607), COVID-19 survivors living in Bangladesh. Data were collected from previously diagnosed COVID-19 participants (confirmed by an RT-PCR test) via door-to-door interviews in the eight different divisions in Bangladesh. For data collection, Bengali translated Brief COPE inventory and WHO Brief Quality of Life (WHO-QOLBREF) questionnaires were used. The data collection period was from June 2020 to March 2021. Results: Males 72.38% (1591) were more affected by COVID-19 than females 27.62% (607). Age showed significant correlations with physical, psychological and social relationships; whereas, gender showed only significant correlation with physical health (p<0.001). Marital status, occupation, living area, and co-morbidities showed significant co-relation with all four domains of QoL (p<0.001). Education and affected family members showed significant correlation with physical and social relationship (p<0.001). However, smoking habit showed significant correlations with both social relationship and environment (p<0.001). Age and marital status showed a significant correlation with avoidant coping strategy (p<0.001); whereas gender and co-morbidities showed significant correlation with problem focused coping strategies (p<0.001). Educational qualification, occupation and living area showed significant correlation with all three coping strategies (p<0.001). Conclusion: Survivors of COVID-19 showed mixed types of coping strategies; however, the predominant coping strategy was avoidant coping, followed by problem focused coping, with emotion focused coping reported as the least prevalent. Marital status, occupation, living area and co-morbidities showed a greater effect on QoL in all participants.