Key result
Patients with infective endocarditis and their caregivers identified emotional support and practical assistance as crucial factors that positively impacted their psychological well-being and coping strategies during the illness.
Why the study?
Infective endocarditis is a life-threatening disease, but the experiences of patients and their caregivers regarding involvement with each other during illness had not yet been examined.
Caregiver participation and social support play a crucial role in the psychological well-being and coping of patients with infective endocarditis.
Emotional support may aid coping in infective endocarditis; hypothesis-generating for targeted interventions in patients and caregivers.
Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening disease with increasing incidence worldwide. Having a supportive caregiver has been shown to have a positive impact on patients coping with illness. To our knowledge, patients with IE and their caregivers’ experiences of involvement during illness have not yet been examined in prior empirical literature. The purpose of this study was to explore patients with IE and their caregivers’ experiences with each other during the patient’s illness. Methods: The design of this study was a holistic single-case study. The sample comprised five patients with IE and a caregiver. The empirical data were collected using qualitative, semi-structured dyadic interviews with theories regarding social support, psychological well-being, and coping strategies. Data were analyzed with a hermeneutic interpretation. Results: Data showed that social support played a significant role in the participants’ lives and during illness. Emotional support and physiological and practical assistance accounted for the greatest sources of social support. An important factor in the psychological well-being of patients was spending time with family. Some participants reported using protective buffering, where they both hide concerns to avoid causing the other distress. Some patients expressed a need for psychological counseling. Conclusion: The study concluded that patients with IE and their caregivers’ involvement during illness played an important role in their lives to the experience they had as a couple with a life-threatening disease. Supporting caregiver participation should be a priority in IE care as they bring support to the patient and valuable insight in research.
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Sarmanlu et al. (2025) studied Infective endocarditis (n=10). Caregiver involvement and social support was evaluated on Patient and caregiver experiences with each other during illness. Patients with infective endocarditis and their caregivers identified emotional support and practical assistance as crucial factors that positively impacted their psychological well-being and coping strategies during the illness.
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