| 1. |
- Jaarsma, Tiny, et al.
(författare)
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Self-care and quality of life in patients with advanced heart failure : the effect of a supportive educational intervention
- 2000
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Ingår i: Heart & Lung. - : Elsevier BV. - 0147-9563 .- 1527-3288. ; 29:5, s. 319-330
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the effects of a supportive educational nursing intervention on self-care abilities, self-care behavior, and quality of life of patients with advanced heart failure. DESIGN: The study design was an experimental, random assignment. SETTING: The study was located at the University Hospital in Maastricht, The Netherlands. PATIENTS: The study included 179 patients (mean age 73 years, 58% men, New York Heart Association classification III and IV) admitted to a university hospital with symptoms of heart failure. OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures included self-care abilities (Appraisal of Self-care Agency Scale), self-care behavior (Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale), 3 dimensions of quality of life (functional capabilities, symptoms, and psychosocial adjustment to illness), and overall well-being (Cantril's ladder of life). INTERVENTION: The intervention patients received systematic education and support by a nurse in the hospital and at home. Control patients received routine care. RESULTS: Self-care abilities did not change as a result of the intervention, but the self-care behavior in the intervention group was higher than the self-care behavior in the control group during follow-up. The effect of the supportive educational intervention on quality of life was limited. The 3 dimensions of quality of life improved after hospitalization in both groups, with no differences between intervention and control group as measured at each follow-up measurement. However, there was a trend indicating differences between the 2 groups in decrease in symptom frequency and symptom distress during the 9 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: A supportive educational nursing intervention is effective in improving self-care behavior in patients with advanced (New York Heart Association class III-IV) heart failure; however, a more intensive intervention is needed to show effectiveness in improving quality of life.
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| 2. |
- Mårtensson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Decisive situations influencing spouses' support of patients with heart failure : A critical incident technique analysis
- 2001
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Ingår i: Heart & Lung. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0147-9563 .- 1527-3288. ; 30:5, s. 341-350
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to describe decisive situations experienced by spouses of patients with heart failure that could potentially affect their ability to provide social support to the patient.METHODS:A qualitative descriptive design with a critical incident technique was used. Twenty-three informants, 15 women and 8 men, who were spouses of patients with severe heart failure were strategically chosen to ensure maximal variation in sociodemographic data and experiences as a spouse.RESULTS:Decisive situations influenced the experience of spouses of patients with heart failure in a manner that was either positive (involvement with others) or negative (feeling like an outsider). When spouses were given attention and treated like persons of value, they experienced involvement with others. In these cases, spouses had someone to turn to and were included in the physical care. In contrast, when spouses were kept at a distance by the patient, were socially isolated, and received insufficient support from children, friends, and health care professionals, they experienced feeling like an outsider.CONCLUSIONS:By identifying spouses' experiences, health care professionals can assess which kind of specific interventions should be used to improve the life situation of the patient with heart failure and his or her spouse.
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| 3. |
- Ågård, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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When is a patient with heart failure adequately informed? A study of patients' knowledge of and attitudes toward medical information
- 2004
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Ingår i: Heart Lung. - : Elsevier BV. - 0147-9563 .- 1527-3288. ; 33:4, s. 219-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The primary aim was to explore patients' knowledge of heart failure and their attitudes toward medical information (prognostic information in particular) and to assess different patient-related factors that might hamper the improvement of patients' knowledge. Moreover, taking the data obtained into account, we analyzed ethical aspects of information disclosure to patients with heart failure. SETTING: The study was performed at Sahlgren's University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. DESIGN: The study was a qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews. PATIENTS: The sample included 40 patients with various stages of chronic heart failure. RESULTS: Many patients had only a limited understanding of their disease, but they still claimed that they were satisfied with the information they received. Some of them seemed to accept, to be indifferent to, or to be unaware of their low level of knowledge. The majority did not request prognostic information. CONCLUSION: We argue that patients with heart failure are adequately informed when they have reached the level of knowledge that enables them to be managed as effectively and securely as possible while being satisfied with the information provided. To give adequate information, health care providers should determine the patients' level of knowledge and explore why those patients who have a limited understanding do not assimilate or request information.
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