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American Journal of Critical Care. 2009;18: 149-159 doi:10.4037/ajcc2009300
Copyright © 2009 by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
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Family Caregiver Outcomes in Heart Failure

By Susan J. Pressler, RN, DNS, Irmina Gradus-Pizlo, MD, Suzanne D. Chubinski, RN, PhD, George Smith, MSW, Susanne Wheeler, RN, MSN, Jingwei Wu, MS and Rebecca Sloan, RN, PhD. Susan J. Pressler is a professor at University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was previously a professor at Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, Indiana. Suzanne D. Chubinski and Susanne Wheeler were graduate nursing students at the time of this study. Chubinski is now an associate professor at University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wheeler is now a clinical nurse specialist for AP&S Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine in Terre Haute, Indiana. Rebecca Sloan is an associate professor at Indiana University School of Nursing. Irmina Gradus-Pizlo is an associate professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, Krannert Institute of Cardiology, and is director of the Clarian Advanced Heart Care Program, Indianapolis, Indiana. George Smith is a clinical social worker at the Clarian Advanced Heart Care Program, Indianapolis. Jingwei Wu is a biostatistician in the Division of Biostatistics at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Corresponding author: Susan J. Pressler, RN, DNS, Professor, University of Michigan School of Nursing, 400 N Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (email: spressle{at}umich.edu).

Background Family caregivers of patients with heart failure report high stress, burden, and poor emotional and physical health, but less is known about predictors of health among these caregivers.

Objectives To determine predictors of family caregiving outcomes among caregivers of patients with heart failure and to identify the tasks reported as most difficult and the most negative outcomes.

Methods A total of 63 patients with heart failure and their 63 family caregivers were enrolled in this prospective study. Data were collected from medical records and from interviews conducted at baseline and 4 and 8 months later.

Results Caregivers reported moderately poor physical and emotional health-related quality of life. Those with more depressive symptoms at baseline were more likely to report their lives had changed for the worse at 4 months (P = .03). The caregivers’ medical health condition (P<.001) and perceived difficulty of caregiving tasks (P = .04) were predictors of physical health-related quality of life at 4 months; at 8 months, medical health condition was the only predictor (P = .004). At 4 and 8 months, depressive symptoms were predictors of emotional health-related quality of life (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). The most difficult caregiving tasks were those dealing with patients’ behavior problems; the most negative outcome was having less time for activities with friends.

Conclusions Studies are needed in larger samples to identify needs of vulnerable populations of caregivers of patients with heart failure and to develop and test interventions for improving caregivers’ outcomes.




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