Pile-Up of Family Demands of Taiwanese Family Living With Chronic Heart Failure

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of individuals and families adapting to living with chronic heart failure, using the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model as the guiding theoretical framework. The study analyzed 17 interviews with either individuals or families from a medical center in a metropolitan city in Taiwan. The findings showed that chronic heart failure struck the family with ripple effects to multiple areas of family life– the well-being of individual family members, family functioning and interactions, and the relationships between the family and its social networks and community. The findings demonstrated that many stresses these families face are independent of the cultural contexts, although cultural beliefs impact the adaptation process.