A preliminary study of quality of life in patients with heart failure

23^rd World Nursing and Healthcare Conference

July 10-12, 2017 Berlin, Germany

Meng-Ling Shih and Fan-Hao Chou

Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Heart failure (HF) is a common condition affecting patients� quality of life (QOL) significantly, due to its severe physical and social function deficiency. One of the major goals of healthcare team is to evaluate their level of QOL in patients with HF, which is frequently considered the effect of medical treatment, environmental design and clinical care. This article aimed to explore the quality of life in patients with heart failure. A cross-sectional and correlational research design was conducted using quality of life assessment (WHOQOL-BREF). In this study we recruited 200 patients with heart failure from a medical center in southern Taiwan. The study showed the mean score of the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan was 83.94 (28-140), with index score of 63.0. The highest subscale score was that for environment domain and the lowest was that for psychological domain. There was a significant difference between gender, marriage, occupation, education level, family income per month, numbers of complication, and number of treatment and QOL of physical domain. There was a significant difference between marriage, occupation, family income per month, numbers of treatment and QOL of psychological, social relationships and environment domain. There was a significant negative correlation(r=-0.218; p=0.002) between age and QOL of physical domain. The study findings suggest that assessing quality of life are relatively major in physical and psychological status in heart failure patients is important. Nurses should pay attention to clinical characteristics, such as patients with old age, no married, illiterate, no occupation, families without income, combined diabetes mellitus, hypertension, acceptance of injection or medication or need oxygen supplying are more likely to be associated with risk factors for low QOL.

Biography :

Meng-Ling Shih has completed her MSN from Kaohsiung Medical University. She is the RN in the Department of Nursing, Cardiovascular Ward and has published 5 papers in international journals.