PICOT research question created and abstracts to support - Assignment Example

Annex of Related Studies Correlating perceived arrhythmia symptoms and quality of life in an older population with heart failure: a prospective, single centre, urban clinic study.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between quality of life and perceived self-reported symptoms in an older, ambulatory, urban population living with heart failure.BACKGROUND: While arrhythmias in older individuals with heart failure are well documented, the association between perceived arrhythmia symptoms and quality of life is not well-defined.

DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional single-centre study.METHODS: A single-centre, prospective study was conducted with heart failure patients recruited from an urban outpatient cardiology clinic in the United States. Fifty-seven patients completed a baseline quality of life survey with 42 of these completing the six-month follow-up survey. Quality of life was evaluated with the SF-36v2(™) and frequency of symptoms with the Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale. Subjects wore an auto triggered cardiac loop monitor (LifeStar AF Express(®) ) for two weeks to document arrhythmias.

Data analysis utilised Spearmans rank correlation and logistic regression.RESULTS: Baseline and six-month quality of life measures did not correlate with recorded arrhythmias. However, perceptions of diminished general health correlated significantly with symptoms of exercise intolerance, lightheadedness/dizziness, palpitations and chest pain/pressure. By multivariable logistic regression, more severe perceived episodes, symptoms of exercise intolerance and lightheadedness/dizziness were independently associated with diminished quality of life.

CONCLUSION: Quality of life was significantly worse in patients with perceptions of severe arrhythmic episodes and in those with symptoms of dizziness and exercise intolerance.RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings of this study indicate that symptomatic heart failure patients suffer from poor quality of life and that interventions are needed to improve quality of life and decrease symptom severity. Nurses who care for heart failure patients play an essential role in symptom evaluation and management and could significantly improve overall quality of life in these patients by carefully evaluating symptomatology and testing interventions and educational programmes aimed at improving quality of life (Hickey, et al., 2102).2.

Determinants of heart failure self-care behaviour in community-based patients: a cross-sectional study.BACKGROUND: Self-care behaviour in patients with heart failure (HF) represents a series of specific actions that patients should take, as an important treatment component.AIMS: The aim of this study was to identify potential determinants of HF self-care in ambulatory patients with stable systolic HF.METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 318 patients with chronic systolic HF recruited in 48 German primary care practices, we evaluated the patient-reported European HF Self-care Behaviour scale (EHFScBs) assessments (range 12-60, where lower scores indicate better self-care).

Potential determinants included socio-demographic (e.g. age, living status), clinical (e.g. NYHA class, LVEF, NT-proBNP levels, co-morbidities), behavioural (e.g. smoking and alcohol intake), psychosocial (SF-36 scales and KCCQ domains, e.g. quality of life and self-efficacy) and depression status (PHQ-D), plus previous health care utilisation. Mixed regression modelling was applied.RESULTS: Patients had a mean (SD) age of 69.0 (10.4) years and were 71% male. They had a good overall EHFScBs score of 24.7 (7.8) (n=274).

In the final regression model (n=271), six determinants were retained (β; descriptive p-value): self-efficacy (-0.24;