Resilience and Depressive Symptoms in Adults With Cardiac Disease: A Systematic Review

App-Based Mindfulness Intervention to Improve Psychological Outcomes in Pretransplant Patients With Heart Failure

Background

Patients hospitalized with life-threatening conditions experience psychological stressors that can lead to anxiety and poor patient outcomes. Mindfulness stress reduction interventions have been shown to decrease stress and anxiety with sustained effect.

Local Problem

In a single center’s cardiac care units, only pharmacological stress reduction options were embedded in the daily care plan.

Methods

This project evaluated the feasibility and effect of a brief mindfulness intervention on stress, anxiety, and resilience in 20 hospitalized patients with advanced heart failure awaiting transplant. A 1-group, pretest-posttest design over a 4-week period was used. The intervention included a one-on-one mindfulness education session and a 12-minute audio-guided tablet computer app for daily self-practice. Outcome variables measured at baseline and 2 and 4 weeks after implementation included stress (10-item Perceived Stress Scale), anxiety (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder instrument), and resilience (10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale). Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and repeated-measures analysis of variance with Friedman tests, Bonferroni post hoc tests, and Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests.

Results

Significant reductions in stress and anxiety and increase in resilience occurred from baseline to 2 weeks and 4 weeks after intervention (all P = .001). Feasibility and acceptability were evident from patient experience survey data and focused interview responses.

Conclusions

A brief mindfulness intervention holds promise for improving stress, anxiety, and resilience for patients with advanced heart failure awaiting transplant. Nurse-led stress reduction interventions are imperative for best patient outcomes. An evidence-based intervention of mindfulness practice embedded into daily usual patient care may be a feasible option.

Determining Holistic Factors Related to Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Heart Failure

Identifying modifiable factors associated with depressive symptoms is important to develop corresponding strategies. This study aimed to determine the holistic factors related to depressive symptoms in heart failure (HF) patients. It was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study. We recruited 329 hospitalized HF patients from two hospitals in China. It is found that HF patients had a relatively high proportion (28.27%) of depressive symptoms. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) (β = .222, p = .011) and physical symptoms (β = .151, p < .001) were positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas resilience (β = -.241, p < .01) and family functioning (β = -.288, p = .001) were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Thus, early screening and management of depressive symptoms are warranted. RDW may serve as a marker for screening depressive symptoms. Moreover, interventions focused on relieving physical symptoms and enhancing resilience and family functioning may reduce depressive symptoms.

A structural equation model in adults with type 1 and 2 diabetes: exploring the interplay of psychological states and diabetes outcomes, and the mediating effect of resilience

AIMS

Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM and T2DM) can lead to emotional distress and cognitive impairments, often caused by psychological factors such as low mood or anxiety; yet, few studies have explored the theoretical mechanisms underlying these relationships and within one study. This study explored the relationships between psychological states (anxiety/worry, fatigue) and diabetes outcomes (diabetes distress, cognitive dysfunction), and whether resilience mediated the association between these in T1DM and T2DM.

METHODS

A sample of 307 UK adults with a clinical diagnosis of diabetes (T1DM = 129; T2DM = 178) completed a cross-sectional online survey, composed of six questionnaires. Associations between variables were investigated using Pearson's correlations and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).

RESULTS

Psychological states were significantly correlated with diabetes outcomes, and resilience was significantly related to both psychological states and diabetes outcomes. The SEM model achieved an acceptable model fit with a significant mediating effect of resilience between psychological states (anxiety/worry, fatigue) and diabetes outcomes (diabetes distress, cognitive dysfunction), with no significant differences between diabetes type.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose a new theoretical model of T1DM and T2DM that could be used to provide guidance for those designing interventions. These findings help to understand the complex nature of diabetes management, suggesting resilience could be a key factor in managing psychological states and diabetes outcomes.