Caregivers and Left Ventricular Assist Devices as a Destination, Not a Journey

Abstract Background The quality of life (QOL) of caregivers of patients with LVAD-DT (Left Ventricular Assist Device as Destination Therapy) has not been well explored. Methods We used a concurrent mixed methods design. Caregivers (n = 42; average 60 years old, 82% female, 75% white) of patients (n ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cardiac failure 2015-10, Vol.21 (10), p.806-815
Main Authors: Kirkpatrick, James N., MD, Kellom, Katherine, BA, Hull, Sarah C., MD, MBE, Henderson, Rebecca, BA, Singh, Jasmeet, MD, Coyle, Laura A., MSN, ACNP-BC, Mountis, Maria, DO, Shore, Elizabeth D., MSW, CSW, Petrucci, Ralph, EdD, Cronholm, Peter F., MD, MSCE, Barg, Frances K., PhD, MEd
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Cardiovascular
caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Caregivers - trends
Female
heart failure
Heart Failure - epidemiology
Heart Failure - psychology
Heart Failure - therapy
Heart Ventricles
Heart-Assist Devices - psychology
Heart-Assist Devices - trends
Humans
LVAD
Male
Middle Aged
quality of life
Quality of Life - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Abstract Background The quality of life (QOL) of caregivers of patients with LVAD-DT (Left Ventricular Assist Device as Destination Therapy) has not been well explored. Methods We used a concurrent mixed methods design. Caregivers (n = 42; average 60 years old, 82% female, 75% white) of patients (n = 39; average 68.3 years old, 83% male, 90% white) and providers (n = 27) from 6 LVAD-DT programs were recruited. We used the City of Hope Quality of Life Family Caregiver instrument, modified for LVAD-DT. Lower scores indicate poorer QOL. We analyzed open-ended questions with the use of Nvivo 10.0, using a modified grounded theory approach. Results The Psychologic subscale had the lowest average QOL score, followed by Social, Spiritual, and then Physical subscales. The composite mean average QOL score across the subscales was highest in caregivers
ISSN:1071-9164
1532-8414
DOI:10.1016/j.cardfail.2015.05.016