Comparison of biventricular/icd therapy and palliative care on the quality of ife of congestive heart failure patients
Date
2010-04-04Author
Hopfensberger, Amy M.
Department
Nursing
Advisor(s)
Collier, Jill
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major public health problem in the United States. One in eight people develop CHF, with the trend continuing to increase. Individuals diagnosed with CHF are confronted with multiple complex problems, as they attempt to cope with chronic illness. Palliative care is one method to care for patients, which is meant to improve care to these patients. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if palliative care, consisting of medication management of CHF, affects the quality of life in congestive heart failure patients. A comparison was done with non-palliative care patients in a cardiology clinic who are receiving biventricular pacemakers.
Kolcaba's Theory of Comfort (1997) was the theoretical framework for this study. Placing the goal of comfort within a framework or theory for nursing provides nurses with rationale for enhancing patient comfort. A thorough literature review revealed that there is a scarcity of data on the effects of palliative care on CHF patients.
A non-experimental quantitative design was used. A convenience sample of patients was selected from two different clinics in northeast Wisconsin, one cardiology clinic and one palliative care clinic. Data were collected using a demographic survey and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). Results were limited by low rates of visits to the palliative care clinic. Descriptive statistics are reported for the 14 heart failure patients seeking care in cardiology and one heart failure patient in palliative care. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Recommendations include future analysis of palliative care as a method of care delivery to other methods of care for patients with CHF.
Subject
Congestive heart failure - treatment
Pallative treatment
Quality of life
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/46130Type
Clinical paper
Description
A Clinical Paper Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner