Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) among parents of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) at King Fahad University Hospital (KFUH) in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and to identify which domains, physical, social, psychological, and environmental, are most impacted. A secondary objective was to assess the association between the severity of the child’s CHD and parental QoL.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2024, involving 215 Saudi and fluent-speaking parents of children under 14 years old diagnosed with CHD. All parents of deceased children were excluded from the study. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling and completed a modified World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire via structured phone interviews.
Results: In a sample of 215 parents, psychological well-being was markedly high (mean 23.33 ± 3.07), closely followed by physical health (23.19 ± 3.40), whereas social support lagged (12.25 ± 2.26). Although 83.4% rated their QoL positively and 89.3% enjoyed life “very much” or “extremely,” 20.5% experienced frequent negative feelings. There were no significant QoL differences found across CHD severity levels (p>0.05), whereas marital status and parental education significantly influenced social (p-value=0.021) and environmental (p-value=0.011; mothers: p-value=0.032; fathers: p-value=0.004) domains.
Conclusion: While parents of children with CHD maintained high overall QoL, persistent social support deficits and the lack of severity‑related QoL differences emphasize the importance of integrating psychosocial and environmental resources into family‑centered pediatric cardiac care.

Key words: Congenital heart disease, quality of life, WHOQOL-BREF, parents, psychosocial impact, Saudi Arabia.