Quality of life and associated factors among patients with epilepsy at selected public hospitals of Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Epilepsy in low- and middle-income countries is linked to lower quality of life and premature death. Limited healthcare access and stigma in regions like Somali hinder effective management and lead to social isolation, affecting family relationships, education, and employment opportunities. Even though determining the status and factors affecting epileptic patients' quality of life is an initial step toward enhancing treatment outcomes, there is a scarcity of evidence-based information on epileptic patients' quality of life in the study area. Objective: To assess the quality of life and its associated factors among patients with epilepsy at selected public hospitals of the Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia, from June 30 to July 30, 2023. Method: An institution-based cross-sectional study was undertaken on 422 epileptic patients in five public hospitals in the Somali region. A simple random sampling procedure was utilized to choose study participants. Faceto-face interviews were conducted with a pretested structured questionnaire, and data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. A multivariable logistic regression analysis with 95% confidence intervals was used to investigate the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. A P-value of less than 0.05 was used to declare the statistical significance of the observed relationships. Results: Overall, 56.4 % of epileptic patients had good quality of life (95 % CI = 51.5-59.2 %) with 98.8 % response rate. Age in year >= 35 (AOR = 0.28; 95 %CI: 0.11, 0.71), family size (four to six, and greater than or equal to seven) (AOR = 0.12; 95 %CI: 0.04,0.33) and (AOR = 0.23; 95 %CI: 0.08, 0.68), poor drug adherence (AOR = 14.42; 95 %CI: 3.93, 52.95), lack physical activities (AOR = 0.33; 95 %CI: 0.17, 0.66), smoking (AOR = 0.41; 95 %CI: 0.18, 0.91), alcohol Consumption (AOR = 0.06; 95 %CI: 0.02), and absence of depression (AOR = 3.32;95 %CI: 1.35, 8.17) were significant association with quality of life among epileptic patients. Conclusions and recommendation: The magnitude of good quality of life among epileptic patients is lower, implying that poor quality of life among epileptic patients remains a public health concern in the study area. Drug adherence, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, anxiety, and depression status were all modifiable factors that influenced quality of life. As a result, it would be ideal if all health practitioners prioritized health education and counseling on treatment adherence, comorbidity, and drug abuse prevention. Furthermore, screening for, identifying, and treating psychological illnesses on a regular basis would greatly benefit epilepsy sufferers' quality of life.