Patients’ and carers’ perspective of the impact of heart failure on quality of life: a qualitative study

Winifred Nwosu, Lyndsay Hughes, Ronak Rajani, Theresa A. McDonagh, Elizabeth Driscoll

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome associated with high mortality and morbidity. HF patients tend to be at a high risk of poor clinical and psychosocial outcomes. This study aimed to capture patients’ and carers perspectives of HF, the impact on their health reported QoL, and the factors associated with their poor health outcomes. To explore HF patients’ and carers’ views on their QoL since diagnosis. This study used a cross-sectional, qualitative design with semi- structured interviews conducted with participating patients and carers. Thirteen adults (> 18 years) with HF and 21 carers were interviewed over the telephone, following a semi-structured inter- view schedule. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Three main themes were identi- fied, with an overarching theme . Themes included impact on patients’ lifestyle including diet, smoking and inability to part-take in social activities, adjusting to HF diagnosis and co-morbidity manage- ment, and psychological/mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Patients with HF are at high-risk of various issues which can negatively impact their QoL. Additionally, Carers play a vital role in the management of HF patients. Effective patient centred care and better communication between patients, carers and healthcare professionals is vital in HF management.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1
Number of pages17
JournalPsychology, Health & Medicine
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 May 2021

Keywords

  • Heart failure; quality of life; carers; informal carers; patients; heart failure management

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