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 interview schedule. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified, 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 management, 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.

摘要

心力衰竭 (HF) 是一种与高死亡率和发病率相关的综合征。HF 患者往往处于不良临床和心理社会结果的高风险中。本研究旨在了解患者和护理人员对 HF 的看法、报告的 QoL 对他们健康的影响以及与他们健康状况不佳相关的因素。探讨心衰患者和护理人员对其诊断后生活质量的看法。本研究采用横断面定性设计，对参与的患者和护理人员进行半结构化访谈。13 名患有 HF 的成年人（>18 岁）和 21 名护理人员接受了电话采访，遵循半结构化的采访时间表。访谈被逐字转录并使用归纳主题分析进行分析。确定了三个主题，其中包含一个总体主题。包括的主题对患者生活方式的影响，包括饮食、吸烟和无法参加社交活动、适应心衰诊断和合并症管理，以及焦虑和抑郁等心理/心理健康问题。心衰患者面临各种可能对其生活质量产生负面影响的问题的高风险。此外，护理人员在心衰患者的管理中发挥着至关重要的作用。有效的以患者为中心的护理以及患者、护理人员和医疗保健专业人员之间更好的沟通对于 HF 管理至关重要。