Project

Psychological and Economic Impact of Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) on Indian Families

This study attempts to analyze, in a prospective manner, the psycho-social and economic impact of surgery for CHD on Indian families. The study will attempt to identify the CHDs associated with a favorable psycho-social and economic impact and those which may not be fiscally viable in our setting.Over an 18-month period, all children (18 years and under) undergoing surgery at the study center will be prospectively enrolled and stratified according to the cardiac diagnosis. The broad areas included in the analysis will include quality of life, economic impact on the family, and psychological impact of the surgery on the child and the family. Evaluations will be performed at initial admission for and discharge after congenital heart surgery and follow up (6 months and 1 year).The data collected can be potentially valuable to funding agencies as well as government when making policies and guidelines for treatment of CHD in India.