Key result
Higher baseline informal caregiver preparedness directly predicted lower psychological symptoms and higher quality of life at 3 months for heart failure patients with insufficient self-care.
Why the study?
Does informal caregivers' preparedness improve psychological symptoms and quality of life in patients with heart failure and insufficient self-care?
Cohort
Does informal caregivers' preparedness improve psychological symptoms and quality of life in patients with heart failure and insufficient self-care?
Higher informal caregiver preparedness is associated with better short-term quality of life and lower psychological symptoms in heart failure patients with insufficient self-care.
Supports evaluating caregiver preparedness in HF self-care; leaves open whether interventions improve outcomes.
BACKGROUND: Most patients with heart failure find self-care difficult to perform and rely on family caregivers for support. Informal caregivers, however, often face insufficient psychological preparation and challenges in providing long-term care. Insufficient caregiver preparedness not only results in psychological burden for the informal caregivers but may also lead to a decline in caregiver contributions to patient self-care that affects patient outcomes. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to test (1) the association of baseline informal caregivers' preparedness with psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression) and quality of life 3 months after baseline among patients with insufficient self-care and (2) the mediating effects of caregivers' contributions to self-care of heart failure (CC-SCHF) on the relationship of caregivers' preparedness with patients' outcomes at 3 months. METHODS: A longitudinal design was used to collect data between September 2020 and January 2022 in China. Data analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, correlations, and linear mixed models. We used model 4 of the PROCESS program in SPSS with bootstrap testing to evaluate the mediating effect of CC-SCHF of informal caregivers' preparedness at baseline with psychological symptoms or quality of life among patients with HF 3 months later. RESULTS: Caregiver preparedness was positively associated with CC-SCHF maintenance ( r = 0.685, P < .01), CC-SCHF management ( r = 0.403, P < .01), and CC-SCHF confidence ( r = 0.600, P < .01). Good caregiver preparedness directly predicted lower psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression) and higher quality of life for patients with insufficient self-care. The associations of caregiver preparedness with short-term quality of life and depression of patients with HF with insufficient self-care were mediated by CC-SCHF management. CONCLUSIONS: Enhancing the preparedness of informal caregivers may improve psychological symptoms and quality of life of heart failure patients with insufficient self-care.
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Su et al. (2023) conducted a cohort in Heart failure with insufficient self-care. Informal caregivers' preparedness vs. Lower caregiver preparedness was evaluated on Psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression) and quality of life at 3 months. Higher baseline informal caregiver preparedness directly predicted lower psychological symptoms and higher quality of life at 3 months for heart failure patients with insufficient self-care.
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