Key result
Integrated psychosocial care aids ACHD management, though evidence lacks a preferred service model.
Why the study?
Improved survival in congenital heart disease has created a growing adult population in whom psychological distress, mental disorders, and social circumstances influence well-being, yet current evidence does not establish a preferred psychosocial intervention or service model.
This narrative review highlights the need to integrate psychological and social support into standard adult congenital heart disease care and proposes a structured patient-centered pathway for evaluation and intervention.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Psychological assessment may enhance adult CHD care; leaves open optimal screening protocols and intervention trials.
Advances in medical and surgical care have substantially improved survival in people with congenital heart disease (CHD), creating a growing population of adults with lifelong health care needs. Psychological distress, mental disorders, and social circumstances can influence well-being, participation, and the experience of illness. Based on a focused narrative review, we examine identification and assessment, interdisciplinary care, relationships, and transition, and address the strengths and limitations of existing intervention studies. Current evidence supports attention to psychosocial outcomes but does not establish a preferred intervention or service model. Drawing on a broader perspective of integrating biomedical, psychological, and contextual knowledge, we propose a patient-centered pathway linking identification, assessment, shared planning, appropriate intervention, and follow-up. Its clinical value, accessibility, and resource implications require prospective evaluation. The central challenge is to make psychological and social support a dependable part of ACHD care.
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Freiberger et al. (2026) conducted a review in Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD). Patient-centered integrated psychosocial care pathway was evaluated. Integrated psychosocial care for adults with congenital heart disease is supported by narrative review, though current evidence does not establish a preferred intervention or service model.
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