Relationship of symptom stress, care needs, social support, and meaning in life to quality of life in patients with heart failure from the acute to chronic stages: a longitudinal study

Min Hui Liu, Ai Fu Chiou*, Chao Hung Wang*, Wen Pin Yu, Mei Hui Lin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) experience continuous changes in symptom distress, care needs, social support, and meaning in life from acute decompensation to chronic phases. The longitudinal relationship between these four factors and quality of life (QOL) was not fully explored. Aims: To simultaneously investigate the relationship between all factors and QOL from hospitalization to 6 months after discharge, and the impact of the changes in these factors on QOL at different time points. Methods: A longitudinal design with panel research (4 time points) was used. From January 2017 to December 2019, patients hospitalized due to acute decompensated HF were consecutively enrolled and followed up for 6 months. Patients were interviewed with questionnaires assessing symptom distress, care needs, social support, meaning in life and QOL at hospitalization and 1, 3 and 6 months after discharge. Results: A total of 184 patients completed 6 months of follow-up. From baseline to 6 months, QOL continuously improved along with decreases in symptoms and care needs, but increases in social support and meaning in life. Better QOL was associated with younger age, higher education level, economic independence, less symptom distress and care needs, and stronger meaning in life (p < 0.05). Compared with hospitalization, decreases in care needs and increases in meaning in life at 1, 3 and 6 months were associated with an increase in physical QOL (p < 0.01). The decrease in care needs and increase in meaning in life at 3 months were associated with an increase in mental QOL (p < 0.05). The increase in social support at 6 months was associated with increases in both physical and mental QOL (p < 0.01). Changes in symptom distress were not correlated with changes in QOL from baseline to all time points. In the multivariable analysis, these findings were independent of age, educational level and economic status. Conclusions: Although symptom distress is associated with QOL after acute decompensated HF, QOL cannot be improved only by improvement in symptoms. With differential duration of improvement in each factor, the integration of alleviation in care needs and strengthening in social support and meaning in life might provide additional benefits in QOL.

Original languageEnglish
Article number252
JournalHealth and Quality of Life Outcomes
Volume19
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

Keywords

  • Healthcare needs
  • Heart failure
  • Meaning in life
  • Quality of life
  • Social support
  • Symptom

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Relationship of symptom stress, care needs, social support, and meaning in life to quality of life in patients with heart failure from the acute to chronic stages: a longitudinal study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this