Challenges, needs, and experiences of recently hospitalized cardiac patients and their informal caregivers

Post-hospitalization remote monitoring for patients with heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in an accountable care organization

BACKGROUND

Post-hospitalization remote patient monitoring (RPM) has potential to improve health outcomes for high-risk patients with chronic medical conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which RPM for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with reductions in post-hospitalization mortality, hospital readmission, and ED visits within an Accountable Care Organization (ACO).

METHODS

Nonrandomized prospective study of patients in an ACO offered enrollment in RPM upon hospital discharge between February 2021 and December 2021. RPM comprised of vital sign monitoring equipment (blood pressure monitor, scale, pulse oximeter), tablet device with symptom tracking software and educational material, and nurse-provided oversight and triage. Expected enrollment was for at least 30-days of monitoring, and outcomes were followed for 6 months following enrollment. The co-primary outcomes were (a) the composite of death, hospital admission, or emergency care visit within 180 days of eligibility, and (b) time to occurrence of this composite. Secondary outcomes were each component individually, the composite of death or hospital admission, and outpatient office visits. Adjusted analyses involved doubly robust estimation to address confounding by indication.

RESULTS

Of 361 patients offered remote monitoring (251 with CHF and 110 with COPD), 140 elected to enroll (106 with CHF and 34 with COPD). The median duration of RPM-enrollment was 54 days (IQR 34-85). Neither the 6-month frequency of the co-primary composite outcome (59% vs 66%, FDR p-value = 0.47) nor the time to this composite (median 29 vs 38 days, FDR p-value = 0.60) differed between the groups, but 6-month mortality was lower in the RPM group (6.4% vs 17%, FDR p-value = 0.02). After adjustment for confounders, RPM enrollment was associated with nonsignificantly decreased odds for the composite outcome (adjusted OR [aOR] 0.68, 99% CI 0.25-1.34, FDR p-value 0.30) and lower 6-month mortality (aOR 0.41, 99% CI 0.00-0.86, FDR p-value 0.20).

CONCLUSIONS

RPM enrollment may be associated with improved health outcomes, including 6-month mortality, for selected patient populations.

Patient Experience at US Hospitals Following the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act

Importance

Communication with caregivers is often not established or standardized during hospitalization. The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act is a state-level policy designed to facilitate communication among patients, caregivers, and clinical care teams during hospitalization to improve patient experience; 42 states have passed this policy since 2014, but whether it was associated with achieving these goals remains unknown.

Objective

To determine whether passage of the CARE Act was associated with improvements in patient experience.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study used a difference-in-differences analysis of short-term, acute-care US hospitals from 2013 to 2019 to analyze changes in patient experience before vs after CARE Act implementation in hospitals located in states that passed the CARE Act compared with those in states that did not. Analyses were performed between September 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.

Exposure

Time-varying indicators for whether a hospital was in a state that passed the CARE Act.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Patient-reported experience via the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey.

Results

A total of 2763 hospitals were included, with 2188 hospitals in CARE Act states and 575 in non-CARE Act states. There were differential improvements in patient experience in the measures of communication with nurses (unadjusted mean [SD] score, 78.40% [0.42%]; difference, 0.18 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.07-0.29 percentage points; P = .002), communication with physicians (mean [SD] score, 80.00% [0.19%]; difference, 0.17 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.06-0.28 percentage points; P = .002), and receipt of discharge information (mean [SD] score, 86.40% [0.22%]; difference, 0.11 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.02-0.21 percentage points; P = .02) among CARE Act states compared with non-CARE Act states after policy passage. In subgroup analyses, improvements were larger among hospitals with lower baseline Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems performance on measures of communication with nurses, communication with physicians, and overall hospital rating.

Conclusions and Relevance

These findings suggest that implementation of the CARE Act was associated with improvements in several measures of patient experience. Policies that formally incorporate caregivers into patient care during hospitalization may improve patient outcomes.

How to optimize the adherence to a guideline-directed medical therapy in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases: a clinical consensus statement from the European Association of Preventive Cardiology

A key factor to successful secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is optimal patient adherence to treatment. However, unsatisfactory rates of adherence to treatment for CVD risk factors and CVD have been observed consistently over the last few decades. Hence, achieving optimal adherence to lifestyle measures and guideline-directed medical therapy in secondary prevention and rehabilitation is a great challenge to many healthcare professionals. Therefore, in this European Association of Preventive Cardiology clinical consensus document, a modern reappraisal of the adherence to optimal treatment is provided, together with simple, practical, and feasible suggestions to achieve this goal in the clinical setting, focusing on evidence-based concepts.

Effectiveness of Digital Counseling Environments on Anxiety, Depression, and Adherence to Treatment Among Patients Who Are Chronically Ill: Systematic Review

Background

Patients who are chronically ill need novel patient counseling methods to support their self-care at different stages of the disease. At present, knowledge of how effective digital counseling is at managing patients’ anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment seems to be fragmented, and the development of digital counseling will require a more comprehensive view of this subset of interventions.

Objective

This study aims to identify and synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of digital counseling environments at improving anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment among patients who are chronically ill.

Methods

Systematic searches of the EBSCO (CINAHL), PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were conducted in May 2019 and complemented in October 2020. The review considered studies that included adult patients aged ≥18 years with chronic diseases; interventions evaluating digital (mobile, web-based, and ubiquitous) counseling interventions; and anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment, including clinical indicators related to adherence to treatment, as outcomes. Methodological quality was assessed using the standardized Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies. As a meta-analysis could not be conducted because of considerable heterogeneity in the reported outcomes, narrative synthesis was used to synthesize the results.

Results

Of the 2056 records screened, 20 (0.97%) randomized controlled trials, 4 (0.19%) pilot randomized controlled trials, and 2 (0.09%) quasi-experimental studies were included. Among the 26 included studies, 10 (38%) digital, web-based interventions yielded significantly positive effects on anxiety, depression, adherence to treatment, and the clinical indicators related to adherence to treatment, and another 18 (69%) studies reported positive, albeit statistically nonsignificant, changes among patients who were chronically ill. The results indicate that an effective digital counseling environment comprises high-quality educational materials that are enriched with multimedia elements and activities that engage the participant in self-care. Because of the methodological heterogeneity of the included studies, it is impossible to determine which type of digital intervention is the most effective for managing anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment.

Conclusions

This study provides compelling evidence that digital, web-based counseling environments for patients who are chronically ill are more effective than, or at least comparable to, standard counseling methods; this suggests that digital environments could complement standard counseling.

Clinicians for CARE: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Support Caregivers of Patients With Heart Disease

Background Caregivers provide critical support for patients with chronic diseases, including heart disease, but often experience caregiver stress that negatively impacts their health, quality of life, and patient outcomes. We aimed to inform health care teams on an evidence-based approach to supporting the caregivers of patients with heart disease. Methods and Results We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials written in English that evaluated interventions to support caregivers of patients with heart disease. We identified 15,561 articles as of April 2, 2020 from 6 databases; of which 20 unique randomized controlled trials were evaluated, representing a total of 1570 patients and 1776 caregivers. Most interventions focused on improving quality of life, and reducing burden, depression, and anxiety; 85% (17 of 20) of the randomized controlled trials provided psychoeducation for caregivers. Interventions had mixed results, with moderate non-significant effects observed for depression (Hedges' g=-0.64; 95% CI, -1.34 to 0.06) and burden (Hedges' g=-0.51; 95% CI, -2.71 to 1.70) at 2 to 4 months postintervention and small non-significant effects observed for quality of life and anxiety. These results were limited by the heterogeneity of outcome measures and intervention delivery methods. A qualitative synthesis of major themes of the interventions resulted in clinical recommendations represented with the acronym "CARE" (Caregiver-Centered, Active engagement, Reinforcement, Education). Conclusions This systematic review highlights the need for greater understanding of the challenges faced by caregivers and the development of guidelines to help clinicians address those challenges. More research is necessary to develop clinical interventions that consistently improve caregiver outcomes.

Toward the Value Sensitive Design of eHealth Technologies to Support Self-management of Cardiovascular Diseases: Content Analysis

BACKGROUND

eHealth can revolutionize the way self-management support is offered to chronically ill individuals such as those with a cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, patients' fluctuating motivation to actually perform self-management is an important factor for which to account. Tailoring and personalizing eHealth to fit with the values of individuals promises to be an effective motivational strategy. Nevertheless, how specific eHealth technologies and design features could potentially contribute to values of individuals with a CVD has not been explicitly studied before.

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to connect a set of empirically validated, health-related values of individuals with a CVD with existing eHealth technologies and their design features. The study searched for potential connections between design features and values with the goal to advance knowledge about how eHealth technologies can actually be more meaningful and motivating for end users.

METHODS

Undertaking a technical investigation that fits with the value sensitive design framework, a content analysis of existing eHealth technologies was conducted. We matched 11 empirically validated values of CVD patients with 70 design features from 10 eHealth technologies that were previously identified in a systematic review. The analysis consisted mainly of a deductive coding stage performed independently by 3 members of the study team. In addition, researchers and developers of 6 of the 10 reviewed technologies provided input about potential feature-value connections.

RESULTS

In total, 98 connections were made between eHealth design features and patient values. This meant that some design features could contribute to multiple values. Importantly, some values were more often addressed than others. CVD patients' values most often addressed were related to (1) having or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, (2) having an overview of personal health data, (3) having reliable information and advice, (4) having extrinsic motivators to accomplish goals or health-related activities, and (5) receiving personalized care. In contrast, values less often addressed concerned (6) perceiving low thresholds to access health care, (7) receiving social support, (8) preserving a sense of autonomy over life, and (9) not feeling fear, anxiety, or insecurity about health. Last, 2 largely unaddressed values were related to (10) having confidence and self-efficacy in the treatment or ability to achieve goals and (11) desiring to be seen as a person rather than a patient.

CONCLUSIONS

Positively, existing eHealth technologies could be connected with CVD patients' values, largely through design features that relate to educational support, self-monitoring support, behavior change support, feedback, and motivational incentives. Other design features such as reminders, prompts or cues, peer-based or expert-based human support, and general system personalization were also connected with values but in narrower ways. In future studies, the inferred feature-value connections must be validated with empirical data from individuals with a CVD or similar chronic conditions.

Dyadic Disruption Theory

Aspects of couples' romantic relationships are some of the most powerful psychosocial forces shaping mental and physical health, but even high-quality relationships are not universally beneficial for patients. Dyadic health theories have largely focused on chronic illness management that occurs after the couple understands the disease and prognosis, rather than focusing on couples' interdependence in the days and weeks following a sudden and disruptive medical event (e.g., an acute coronary syndrome [ACS] or a stroke). To address this gap, I propose Dyadic Disruption Theory to guide research on couples' reactions to acute medical events and their consequences for individual and dyadic mental health, physical health, and behavior. I propose that dyadic processes of social support, shared reality, and co-rumination can precipitate harmful patient and partner dynamics when couples are distressed early post-event and offer three propositions that inform testable hypotheses. Finally, I discuss implications for early dyadic intervention and future directions for research.

Factors associated with informal caregiving and its effects on health, work, and social activities of adult informal caregivers in Malaysia: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019

BACKGROUND

The increase in the elderly population, chronic and degenerative diseases, as well as accidents at work and on the road in Malaysia would result in an increased demand for informal care. This paper aimed to determine the associated factors of informal caregiving and its effects on health, work and social activities of adult informal caregivers in Malaysia.

METHODS

The data from the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS), a nationwide cross-sectional survey with a two-stage stratified random sampling design, was used in this research. The study included respondents who were 18 years and older (n = 11,674). Data were obtained via face-to-face interviews using validated questionnaires. Descriptive and complex sample logistic regression analyses were employed as appropriate.

RESULTS

5.7% of the adult population were informal caregivers. Provision of informal care were significantly associated with the female sex (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [1.21, 1.92]), those aged 36-59 years (OR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.15, 2.25]), and those who reported illness in the past 2 weeks (OR = 1.79, 95% CI [1.38, 2.33]). The risk of having their health affected were associated with female caregivers (OR = 3.63, 95% CI [1.73, 7.61]), those who received training (OR = 2.10, 95% CI [1.10, 4.00]) and those who provided care for 2 years or more (OR = 1.91, 95% CI [1.08, 3.37]). The factors associated with the effects on work were ethnicity, received training and had no assistance to provide the care. In terms of effect on social activities, female caregivers (OR = 1.96, 95% CI [1.04, 3.69]) and caregivers who received training were more likely (OR = 2.19, 95% CI [1.22, 3.93]) to have their social activities affected.

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed that sex, age, and self-reported illness were factors associated with being an informal caregiver in Malaysia. Informal caregivers faced effects on their health, work, and social activities which may be detrimental to their well-being. This understanding is crucial for planning support for caregivers.

Information needs and information seeking behaviors of patients and families in acute healthcare settings: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review was to explore the information needs and information seeking behaviors of patients and families from healthcare providers in acute healthcare settings in existing literature.

INTRODUCTION

A well-informed family can be crucial to a patient's capacity to cope with their diagnosis and hospital care during acute or chronic illness. Information is therefore critical to both the patient's and family's understanding of the illness and healthcare process. Providing appropriate and timely information can empower patients and families with knowledge and alleviate the anxiety and stress associated with a hospital admission. However, acutely ill patients and families in different acute care settings have considerable and differing information needs.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

This scoping review included studies undertaken in acute healthcare facilities where patients were over 18 years of age and family members were of any sex, culture and ethnicity. Family was defined as anyone connected to the patient by blood, marriage or other significant relationship. Healthcare provider perspectives of family and patient information needs were excluded. Concepts related to type of information, timing of information, preferences for who delivers the information and method of information delivery. Qualitative and quantitative study designs published from 2010 to 2017 in English were included.

METHODS

Multiple databases were searched to find published and unpublished studies. A three-step search strategy was utilized. A charting table was developed for the data extraction process to record data relating to the review objectives. Specific data extracted included details on research design, geographical location, year of publication, characteristics of study population, research aims and outcomes as well as key findings related to patient and family information needs.

RESULTS

The scoping review included 109 studies from across 34 countries. Of these studies, 68 used quantitative research designs, 29 were qualitative in nature and 12 included studies reported using mixed methods. One study used an action research methodology. Nine studies were specific to family information needs. A majority of studies were conducted in the cancer care context, with other acute settings comprising intensive care units, surgical settings and individual medical or surgical units/wards within and across the hospital. While most of the included studies addressed the type of content patients and/or families prefer, a few studies explored the timing of information provision.

CONCLUSIONS

The international literature on information needs of patient and families comprises multiple published studies on differing aspects of the topic and situated within various acute care contexts. Despite the broad nature of the research, studies suggest that preferences regarding information content, timing of information delivery and choices regarding who delivers information vary across contexts and according to the patient/family member. The complexity behind this variation and strategies to address tailoring information delivery requires further in-depth research.

Quality improvement study on early recognition and intervention of caregiver burden in a tertiary hospital

Background

Caregivers play a crucial role in taking over the important task of looking after patients post-hospitalisation. Caregivers who are unfamiliar with patients’ post-discharge care often experience caregiver stress, while patients may see deterioration in their condition. As caregivers are our core partners in healthcare, it is therefore necessary for patient navigators to recognise, assess and address caregivers’ needs or burden as early as on admission to hospital. Patient navigators are trained registered nurses whose main role is to provide patients and caregivers with personalised guidance through the complex healthcare system.

Objectives

This quality improvement study examined the efficacy of using the Zarit Burden Interview as a tool in helping patient navigators recognise caregiver burden early and the effectiveness of targeted interventions on caregiver burden.

Methods

Various quality improvement tools were used. Eighty-six patient-caregiver dyads who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Informal caregivers were assessed for caregiver burden using the Zarit Burden Interview during hospital admission (T0) and again at 30 days postdischarge (T1), post-intervention.

Results

There was significant improvement in the Zarit Burden mean scores from T0 to T1 reported for the 80 dyads who completed the study, even after adjusting for covariates (T0 mean=11.08, SD=7.64; T1 mean=2.48, SD=3.36, positive ranks, p<0.001). Highest burden identified by most caregivers were the personal strain; trying to meet other responsibilities and uncertain about what to do in caring for their loved one. By recognising the different aspects of caregiver burden early, patient navigators were able to focus their interventions.

Conclusion

Early recognition of caregiver burden and targeted interventions were found to be effective at reducing caregiver burden in a tertiary hospital.

Supporting the Health and Well-being of Caregivers: Co-design in Practice at a Canadian Cardiac Care Center

BACKGROUND

Caregivers contribute substantially to patients' management of and recovery from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet, the distress that many caregivers experience in this role continues to be underresearched and their needs undersupported.

PURPOSE

Situated within a patient engagement framework and adapted from experience-based co-design guidelines, the process of developing a comprehensive caregiver support resource with joint contributions from caregivers and healthcare providers representing multiple disciplines is described. A discussion of the challenges encountered during the development of the caregiver support resource and recommendations for future sites embarking on co-design work are noted.

CONCLUSION

Developing feasible and relevant approaches, such as informational support instruments, to meet the needs of the growing population of CVD caregivers is essential.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Although co-design processes are often complex, take more time and resources to implement, and involve multiple levels of an organization and community than traditional practices, these efforts may help to improve healthcare quality to stem the burden of CVD.

Stressors in open-heart surgery patients: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Open-heart surgery is a stressful experience for the patients and their families. From the moment that patients are told they must undergo surgery until discharge, they experience different degrees of worry and nervousness. This study was conducted with the aim of identifying stress factors in heart surgery patients.

METHODS

This study was performed using a qualitative method on 21 participants (14 patients and 7 caregivers). The research environment was open-heart surgery wards of two educational hospitals in Ahwaz (south of Iran) in 2017. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and then, analyzed using the qualitative approach of content analysis proposed by Graneheim and Lundmnan (2004).

RESULTS

The 5 themes of “physical stressors”, “self-care stressors”, “psychological stressors”, “religious stressors”, and “hospital stressors” were obtained. These themes were the result of the patients’ experiences and dimensions of patients’ perceptions regarding stressors in open-heart surgery.

CONCLUSION

Stress in patients undergoing open-heart surgery is a contextual and relative concept and a subjective experience, which is experienced as a sense of worry. Identifying and clarifying stressors in open-heart surgery patients for nurses is vital, like a key for improving care quality. Nursing managers in clinical practice can also benefit from these findings regarding heart surgery in improving the care quality and professional performance of nurses.

Caregiver Experiences of Care Coordination for Recently Discharged Patients: A Qualitative Metasynthesis

Caregivers of patients often provide key support for patients after hospitalization. This qualitative metasynthesis describes caregiver perspectives about care coordination for patients discharged from the hospital. A literature search of Ovid Medline and CINAHL completed on May 23, 2018, identified 1,546 studies. Twelve articles were included in the final metasynthesis. Caregiver perspectives about care coordination were compiled into overall themes. A subanalysis of studies in which patients were discharged with home health services was completed. Five main themes emerged related to caregiver perspectives on care coordination after hospitalization: (a) Suboptimal access to clinicians after discharge, (b) Feeling disregarded by clinicians, (c) Need for information and training at discharge, (d) Overwhelming responsibilities to manage appointments and medications, and (e) Need for emotional support.Findings from this metasynthesis suggest the need for clinicians to engage with caregivers to provide support, training, and communication after hospital discharge.

What do caregivers value and is there agreement in perception of met needs between nurses and caregivers?

INTRODUCTION

There is an increasing reliance on informal caregivers to continue the care of patients after discharge. This is a huge responsibility for caregivers and some may feel unprepared for the role. Without adequate support and understanding regarding their needs, patient care may be impeded. This study aimed to identify the needs valued by caregivers and if there was agreement between acute care nurses and caregivers in the perception of whether caregiver needs were being met.

METHODS

We conducted face-to-face interviews with 100 pairs of acute care nurses and caregivers. Participants were recruited from inpatient wards through convenience sampling. Questionnaires included demographic data of nurses and caregivers, patients' activities of daily living, and perception of caregiver needs being met in six domains of care. Independent t-test was used to compare mean values in each domain, and intraclass correlation coefficient was used to compare agreement in perception.

RESULTS

Caregivers valued reassurance the most. Three domains of care needs showed significant differences in perception of caregiver needs being met:reassurance (p = 0.002), honesty and timeliness (p = 0.008), and kindness and genuine care (p = 0.026). There was poor agreement in all six domains of caregiver needs being met between nurses and caregivers.

CONCLUSION

Although caregivers valued reassurance the most, there was poor agreement between acute care nurses and caregivers in the perception of caregiver needs being met. Hence, more attention should be paid to the caregiver's needs. Further studies can examine reasons for unmet caregiver needs and interventions to improve support for them.

Interventions to support return to work for people with coronary heart disease

BACKGROUND

People with coronary heart disease (CHD) often require prolonged absences from work to convalesce after acute disease events like myocardial infarctions (MI) or revascularisation procedures such as coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Reduced functional capacity and anxiety due to CHD may further delay or prevent return to work.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of person- and work-directed interventions aimed at enhancing return to work in patients with coronary heart disease compared to usual care or no intervention.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the databases CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, NIOSHTIC, NIOSHTIC-2, HSELINE, CISDOC, and LILACS through 11 October 2018. We also searched the US National Library of Medicine registry, clinicaltrials.gov, to identify ongoing studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining return to work among people with CHD who were provided either an intervention or usual care. Selected studies included only people treated for MI or who had undergone either a CABG or PCI. At least 80% of the study population should have been working prior to the CHD and not at the time of the trial, or study authors had to have considered a return-to-work subgroup. We included studies in all languages. Two review authors independently selected the studies and consulted a third review author to resolve disagreements.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors extracted data and independently assessed the risk of bias. We conducted meta-analyses of rates of return to work and time until return to work. We considered the secondary outcomes, health-related quality of life and adverse events among studies where at least 80% of study participants were eligible to return to work.

MAIN RESULTS

We found 39 RCTs (including one cluster- and four three-armed RCTs). We included the return-to-work results of 34 studies in the meta-analyses.Person-directed, psychological counselling versus usual careWe included 11 studies considering return to work following psychological interventions among a subgroup of 615 participants in the meta-analysis. Most interventions used some form of counselling to address participants' disease-related anxieties and provided information on the causes and course of CHD to dispel misconceptions. We do not know if these interventions increase return to work up to six months (risk ratio (RR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84 to 1.40; six studies; very low-certainty evidence) or at six to 12 months (RR 1.24, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.63; seven studies; very low-certainty evidence). We also do not know if psychological interventions shorten the time until return to work. Psychological interventions may have little or no effect on the proportion of participants working between one and five years (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.34; three studies; low-certainty evidence).Person-directed, work-directed counselling versus usual careFour studies examined work-directed counselling. These counselling interventions included advising patients when to return to work based on treadmill testing or extended counselling to include co-workers' fears and misconceptions regarding CHD. Work-directed counselling may result in little to no difference in the mean difference (MD) in days until return to work (MD -7.52 days, 95% CI -20.07 to 5.03 days; four studies; low-certainty evidence). Work-directed counselling probably results in little to no difference in cardiac deaths (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.19 to 5.39; two studies; moderate-certainty evidence).Person-directed, physical conditioning interventions versus usual careNine studies examined the impact of exercise programmes. Compared to usual care, we do not know if physical interventions increase return to work up to six months (RR 1.17, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.41; four studies; very low-certainty evidence). Physical conditioning interventions may result in little to no difference in return-to-work rates at six to 12 months (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.20; five studies; low-certainty evidence), and may also result in little to no difference on the rates of patients working after one year (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.30; two studies; low-certainty evidence). Physical conditioning interventions may result in little to no difference in the time needed to return to work (MD -7.86 days, 95% CI -29.46 to 13.74 days; four studies; low-certainty evidence). Physical conditioning interventions probably do not increase cardiac death rates (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.35 to 2.80; two studies; moderate-certainty evidence).Person-directed, combined interventions versus usual careWe included 13 studies considering return to work following combined interventions in the meta-analysis. Combined cardiac rehabilitation programmes may have increased return to work up to six months (RR 1.56, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.98; number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) 5; four studies; low-certainty evidence), and may have little to no difference on return-to-work rates at six to 12 months' follow-up (RR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.13; 10 studies; low-certainty evidence). We do not know if combined interventions increased the proportions of participants working between one and five years (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.37; six studies; very low-certainty evidence) or at five years (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.38; four studies; very low-certainty evidence). Combined interventions probably shortened the time needed until return to work (MD -40.77, 95% CI -67.19 to -14.35; two studies; moderate-certainty evidence). Combining interventions probably results in little to no difference in reinfarctions (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.40; three studies; moderate-certainty evidence).Work-directed, interventionsWe found no studies exclusively examining strictly work-directed interventions at the workplace.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Combined interventions may increase return to work up to six months and probably reduce the time away from work. Otherwise, we found no evidence of either a beneficial or harmful effect of person-directed interventions. The certainty of the evidence for the various interventions and outcomes ranged from very low to moderate. Return to work was typically a secondary outcome of the studies, and as such, the results pertaining to return to work were often poorly reported. Adhering to RCT reporting guidelines could greatly improve the evidence of future research. A research gap exists regarding controlled trials of work-directed interventions, health-related quality of life within the return-to-work process, and adverse effects.

Patient, Caregiver, and Clinician Perspectives on Expectations for Home Healthcare after Discharge: A Qualitative Case Study

BACKGROUND

Patients discharged from the hospital with skilled home healthcare (HHC) services have multiple comorbidities, high readmission rates, and multiple care needs. In prior work, HHC nurses described that patients often express expectations for services beyond the scope of skilled HHC.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare expectations for HHC from the patient, caregiver, and HHC perspectives after hospital discharge.

DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS

This was a descriptive qualitative case study including HHC patients, caregivers, and clinicians. Patients were discharged from an academic medical center between July 2017 and February 2018.

RESULTS

The sample (N = 27) included 11 HHC patients, eight caregivers, and eight HHC clinicians (five nurses and three physical therapists). Patient mean age was 66 years and the majority were female, white, and had Medicare. We observed main themes of clear and unclear expectations for HHC after discharge. Clear expectations occur when the patient and/or caregiver have expectations for HHC aligned with the services received. Unclear expectations occur when the patient and/or caregiver expectations are uncertain or misaligned with the services received. Patients and caregivers with clear expectations for HHC frequently described prior experiences with skilled HHC or work experience within the healthcare field. In most cases with unclear expectations, the patient and caregiver did not have prior experience with HHC.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve HHC transitions, we recommend actively engaging both patients and caregivers in the hospital and HHC settings to provide education about HHC services, and assess and address additional care needs.

High Priority Problems Experienced by Informal Caregivers of Individuals With Heart Failure

The purpose of this study was to identify high priority problems experienced by informal caregivers when providing care for individuals with heart failure in the home. This secondary analysis was part of a cross-sectional, descriptive study using online self-report instruments (N = 530), including one researcher-developed item identifying top priority problems for heart failure caregivers. Content and quantitative data analyses were conducted. Performing multifaceted activities and roles that evolve around daily heart failure demands (n = 463) and maintaining caregiver physical, emotional, social, and financial well-being (n = 138) were the two most common themes experienced by caregivers of individuals with heart failure. Each of these two problems had several dimensions. Another theme was providing unending care (n = 40), with two dimensions.

"We are doing it together"; The integral role of caregivers in a patients' transition home from the medicine unit

Background

An admission to hospital for acute illness can be difficult for patients and lead to high levels of anxiety. Patients are given a lot of information throughout their hospital stay and instructions at discharge to follow when they get home. For complex medical patients, the ability to retain, understand, and adhere to these instructions is a critical marker of a successful transition. This study was undertaken to explore factors impacting the ability of patients to understand and adhere to instructions.

Methods

A qualitative design of interviews with patients and caregivers was used. Participants were adult patients and caregivers with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or community-acquired pneumonia being discharged home from three academic acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. Semi structured interviews were conducted with participants within one week following their discharge from hospital. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Five independent researchers participated in an iterative process of coding, reviewing, and analyzing the interviews using direct content analysis.

Results

In total, 27 participants completed qualitative interviews. Analysis revealed the role of the caregiver to be critical in its relation to the ability of patients to understand and adhere to discharge instructions. Within the topic of caregiving, we draw on three areas of insight: The first clarified how caregivers support patients after they are discharged home from the hospital. The second highlighted how caregiver involvement impacts patient understanding and adherence to discharge instructions. The third revealed system factors that influence a caregiver’s involvement when receiving discharge instructions.

Conclusion

Caregivers play an important role in the transition of a complex medical patient by impacting a patient’s ability to understand and adhere to their discharge instructions. The themes identified in this paper highlight opportunities for healthcare providers and institutions to effectively involve caregivers during transitions from acute care hospitals to home.

Understanding patients and spouses experiences of patient education following a cardiac event and eliciting attitudes and preferences towards incorporating cardiopulmonary resuscitation training: A qualitative study

AIM

The aim of this study was to gain a comprehensive perspective about the experience of patient and spousal education following an acute cardiac event. The second objective was to elicit an understanding of patient and spousal attitudes, preferences and intentions towards future cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.

BACKGROUND

Patients with cardiovascular disease require comprehensive patient and family education to ensure adequate long-term disease management. As cardiac patients are at risk of future cardiac events, including out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation training to patients and family members has long been advocated.

DESIGN

We conducted a qualitative study underpinned by phenomenology and the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with cardiac patients and their spouses (N = 12 patient-spouse pairs) between March 2015-April 2016 purposively sampled from a cardiology ward. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis undertaken.

FINDINGS

Nine male and three female patients and their spouses were recruited. Ages ranged from 47-75 years. Four strongly interrelated themes emerged: the emotional response to the event, information, control and responsibility. There was evidence of positive attitudes and intentions from the TPB towards undertaking cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in the future. Only the eldest patient spouse pair were not interested in undertaking training.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest cardiac patients and spouses have unmet education needs following an acute cardiac event. Information increased control and decreased negative emotions associated with diagnosis. Participants' preferences were for inclusion of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Specific needs, concerns, strategies and advice of caregivers after coronary artery bypass surgery

OBJECTIVE

To describe concerns, needs, strategies and advice of coronary artery bypass (CABG) caregivers during the first 3 months post-surgery.

BACKGROUND

Nearly 400,000 patients underwent CABG surgery in 2010. While caregiving demand and difficulty has been investigated in early (4-8 weeks), mid (3 month), and later (6-12 months) recovery, no studies have explored early-to-mid concerns in-depth.

METHODS

In this qualitative study, a purposive sample of CABG partners participated in structured interviews. Themes for burden concerns, needs and strategies were derived using constant comparative analysis.

RESULTS

One global theme 'knowing what I'm supposed to be doing' emerged. Specific themes related to medications, mobility, symptom monitoring, memory, appetite, emotional spirits, and finances.

CONCLUSIONS

The resounding need for a dedicated caregiver program to prepare partners for their role, including what to expect, warrants exploration. Future research should validate these concerns in more diverse samples so interventions can be targeted to better support caregivers.

Medication management activities performed by informal caregivers of older adults

BACKGROUND

Medication management is commonly performed by informal caregivers, yet they are often unprepared and ill-equipped to manage complex medication regimens for their older adult care recipients. In order to develop interventions that will enhance the caregiver's ability to safely and confidently manage medications, it is critical to first understand caregiver challenges and unmet needs related to medication management.

OBJECTIVES

To explore how informal caregivers manage medications for their older adult care recipients by identifying the activities involved in medication management and the tools or strategies used to facilitate these activities.

METHODS

Four focus groups with caregivers of older adults were conducted with 5-9 caregivers per group. Participants were asked to describe the medication management activities performed and the tools or strategies used to facilitate these activities. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes using an inductive approach.

RESULTS

Caregivers were commonly involved in 2 types of activities: direct activities requiring physical handling of medications such as obtaining medications, preparing pill boxes, and assisting with medication administration; and indirect activities that were more complex and required more of a cognitive effort by the caregiver, such as organizing and tracking medications, gathering information, and making treatment decisions. They utilized a variety of tools and strategies to support these medication management activities; however, these approaches often needed to be modified or personalized to meet the specific needs of their caregiving situation.

CONCLUSIONS

Informal caregivers play a vital role in ensuring safe and appropriate medication use by older adults. Medication management is complex and involves many activities that are supported through the use of a variety of tools and strategies that have been adapted and individualized to each specific caregiving scenario. Caregivers should be an important component of interventions that aim to improve medication use among older adults.

Age and gender influences on the needs, concerns and strategies of CABG caregivers

BACKGROUND

Caring for coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery patients can be challenging. No studies have explored caregiver burden by age and gender.

OBJECTIVE

To describe age and gender-specific concerns, needs and strategies during the first 3 months.

METHODS

Themes for burden concerns, needs and strategies were derived from interviews of 32 CABG caregivers using constant comparative analysis.

RESULTS

Age-specific themes related to motivating exercise (<70), applying support hose, and self-reliance (>70). Gender-specific themes related to incision worries and transportation (all females); regulating blood sugars, vital sign anxiety, hurrying back, reinforcing healthy behaviors, and being there (females <70); meal planning, coordinating appointments, and anger over self-care reminders (females >70); caregiver relief, inconsistent information, and doing it all (all males); upsetting scars (males <70), and lost sleep (male >70).

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should validate concerns in diverse samples so interventions can be targeted to support male and female caregivers by age groups.

Comparison of patient and partner quality of life and health outcomes in the first year after an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)

Recovery following an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) impacts both the patient and partner, often in divergent ways. Patients may have had a cardiac arrest or cardiac arrhythmias, whereas partners may have to perform CPR and manage the ongoing challenges of heart disease therapy. Currently, support for post-ICD care focuses primarily on restoring patient functioning with few interventions available to partners who serve as primary support. This descriptive study examined and compared patterns of change for both patients and partners during the first year post-ICD implantation. For this longitudinal study, the sample included 42 of 55 (76.4 %) patient-partner dyads who participated in the 'usual care' group of a larger intervention RCT with patients following ICD implant for secondary prevention of cardiac arrest. Measures taken at across five time points (at hospital discharge and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months follow up) tracked physical function (SF-12 PCS, symptoms); psychological adjustment (SF-12 MCS; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; CES-D); relationship impact (Family Functioning, DOII; Mutuality and Interpersonal Sensitivity, MIS); and healthcare utilization (ED visits, outpatient visits, hospitalizations). Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to characterize and compare outcome trends for patients and partners across the first 12 months of recovery. Patients were 66.5 ± 11.3 (mean + SD) years old, predominately Caucasian male (91 %), with Charlson co-morbidities of 4.4 ± 2.4. Partners were 62.5 ± 11.1 years old, predominantly female (91 %) with Charlson co-morbidities of 2.9 ± 3.0. Patient versus partner differences were observed in the pattern of physical health (F = 10.8, p < 0.0001); patient physical health improved while partner health showed few changes. For partners compared to patients, anxiety, depression, and illness demands on family functioning tended to be higher. Patient mutuality was stable, while partner mutuality increased steadily (F = 2.5, p = 0.05). Patient sensitivity was highest at discharge and declined; partner sensitivity increased (F = 10.2, p < 0.0001) across the 12-month recovery. Outpatient visits for patients versus partners differed (F = 5.0, p = 0.008) due most likely to the number of required patient ICD visits. Total hospitalizations and ED visits were higher for patients versus partners, but not significantly. The findings highlight the potential reciprocal influences of patient and partner responses to the ICD experience on health outcomes. Warranted are new, sound and feasible strategies to counterbalance partner needs while simultaneously optimizing patient recovery outcomes.