Abstract
Background: Heart failure (HF) dramatically affects the lives of both patients and their caregivers, yet limited research exists examining the relationship between emotional well-being of HF patients and their caregivers. Therefore, we conducted a study to (1) describe and compare the emotional well-being of HF patients and their caregivers, (2) determine if gender differences exist in emotional well-being of patients and caregivers, and (3) identify factors associated with emotional well-being of HF patients. Methods: The emotional well-being of 103 patient-caregiver dyads was assessed using the mental health subscale of the SF-12. Results: Patients were 57.6 ± 12.1 years, predominantly Caucasian (76.7%) and male (67.0%). Caregivers were 59.5 ± 17.6 years, predominantly females (70.9%) and spouses of patients with HF (82.6%). Patients had significantly lower (poorer) emotional well-being scores than caregivers. Both gender and age were associated with patients' emotional well-being; male and younger participants had higher (better) scores than female and older patients (P <.05). In a multivariate model, patient's age, gender, and caregivers' emotional well-being accounted for 54% of the variance in patients' emotional well-being. Conclusion: We found that the emotional well-being of caregivers is associated with the emotional well-being of HF patients. Our findings suggest the need to focus on supporting caregivers and providing them with the strategies they need to support their loved ones with HF.
Highlights
Heart failure (HF) dramatically affects the lives of both patients and their caregivers, yet limited research exists examining the relationship between emotional well-being of HF patients and their caregivers
Gender differences in emotional well-being of both patients and caregivers were documented
We found that the clinical parameters (HF etiology, ejection fraction (EF), New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, and VO2) were associated with each other but not with patients’ emotional well-being
Summary
Heart failure (HF) dramatically affects the lives of both patients and their caregivers, yet limited research exists examining the relationship between emotional well-being of HF patients and their caregivers. We conducted a study to (1) describe and compare the emotional well-being of HF patients and their caregivers, (2) determine if gender differences exist in emotional well-being of patients and caregivers, and (3) identify factors associated with emotional well-being of HF patients. Results: Patients were 57.6 Ϯ 12.1 years, predominantly Caucasian (76.7%) and male (67.0%). Caregivers were 59.5 Ϯ 17.6 years, predominantly females (70.9%) and spouses of patients with HF (82.6%). Patients had significantly lower (poorer) emotional well-being scores than caregivers. Both gender and age were associated with patients’ emotional well-being; male and younger participants had higher (better) scores than female and older patients (P < .05). Conclusion: We found that the emotional well-being of caregivers is associated with the emotional well-being of HF patients.
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