OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The COVID-19 pandemic limited family caregivers’ in-person visits to their loved one’s healthcare appointments, and many switched to phone and video calls with their loved one’s ...healthcare providers. We sought to determine the relationship between virtual communication with their loved one’s healthcare providers and caregiver’s mental stress. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This research utilizes cross-sectional retrospective data from the National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) Round VI (June 2021 – January 2022), a nationally representative cohort of caregivers of Medicare enrollees ages 65+. Caregivers reported the frequency of contact with their loved one’s healthcare providers and the healthcare provider’s rated helpfulness. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses will be performed in Stata to characterize how communication frequency between caregivers and their loved one’s healthcare providers may be associated with outcome variables including symptoms of anxiety and depression, as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) scales. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Analysis is ongoing. We anticipate that this research will help in determining significant symptoms of anxiety and depression as measured by the GAD-2 and PHQ-2 scales amongst caregivers according to their virtual communication use. In addition, we anticipate that results may vary based on sociodemographic characteristics including gender, age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and level of education. Other possible covariates that might be associated with varying levels of stress in using virtual communication include caregiver’s health status and comfort with technology. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This research is important as many caregivers cannot attend their loved one’s healthcare appointments in-person, like in situations of geographic distance or inflexible work hours. Further, study results may identify stress disparities among caregiver sociodemographic groups for future targeted intervention.
Caregivers of persons with heart failure (HF) navigate complex care plans, yet support strategies often focus solely on meeting the needs of patients. We conducted a randomized waitlist control trial ...(N = 38) to test the feasibility and gauge initial effect size of the Caregiver Support intervention on quality of life, caregiver burden, and self-efficacy among HF caregivers. The intervention includes up to five remote, nurse-facilitated sessions. Components address: holistic caregiver assessment, life purpose, action planning, resources, and future planning. Caregivers were 93.3% female, 60% White, and 63.3% spouses. Average age was 59.4. Participants who completed the intervention reported high satisfaction and acceptability of activities. Between-group effect sizes at 16 and 32 weeks suggest improvement in quality of life (mental health) (.88; 1.08), caregiver burden (.31; .37), and self-efficacy (.63; .74). Caregivers found Caregiver Support acceptable and feasible. Findings contribute evidence that this intervention can enhance caregiver outcomes. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT04090749.
For caregivers of people with heart failure, addressing a range of care recipient needs at home can potentially be burdensome, but caregivers may also gain meaning from caregiving. The Caregiver ...Support Program, a multicomponent strengths-based intervention, is designed to improve outcomes of heart failure caregivers.
1) Test the feasibility and gauge an initial effect size of the Caregiver Support Program to improve caregiver quality of life (primary outcome), and fatigue and burden (secondary outcomes) from baseline to 16 weeks, 2) test whether fatigue and caregiver burden are associated with objective measures of resilience (sweat inflammatory cytokines (Il-6 and IL-10) and self-reported resilience, 3) evaluate changes in heart rate variability, IL-6 and IL-10, pre- and post-intervention.
This is a single-blind, two group, waitlist control trial. Eligible caregivers are 1) ≥ 18 years, 2) English speaking, 3) live with the person with heart failure or visit them at least 3 days per week to provide care, 4) provide support for at least 1 instrumental activity of daily living (IADL), 5) live within a 1 h driving radius of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and 6) the care-recipient has been hospitalized within the last 6 months. Trial participants are randomized into the immediate intervention (n = 24) or waitlist control group (n = 24). Data collection is at baseline, 16 weeks, and 32 weeks.
The Caregiver Support program has the potential to increase quality of life and decrease fatigue and caregiver burden for caregivers of people with heart failure and multiple co-morbidities.
The purpose of this study is to examine how a novel intervention known as TIMS, “This is My Story,” impacted clinicians caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in the medical intensive care ...unit (MICU) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. An eight-question survey was administered to MICU staff on their experience with TIMS files for pre- and post-listening reflections. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 staff members who prospectively agreed to participate. A total of 97 pre-listening and 88 post-listening questionnaires were completed. Responses indicated that the audio recording was appropriate to discover more about the patient beyond the immediately observable and useful (98%), “considerably” increased staff empathy for the patient (74%), and thought it would “some” or “considerably” improve subsequent interactions with the patient’s loved ones (99%). The qualitative analysis revealed that medical staff found the audio format easy to use and helpful in humanizing patients in their clinical practice. The study demonstrates that TIMS audio files are an important addition to the electronic medical record, enabling clinicians to practice with greater awareness of the patient’s context and increased empathy for patients and families.
•Caregivers created action plans and life purpose statements in the caregiver support intervention.•Action plans and life purpose statements highlighted diverse needs and values.•Person-centered ...support could be beneficial for caregivers in the future.
Caregivers of persons living with heart failure (HF) experience uncertainty related to heart failure trajectory and caregiving demands. Caregiver Support is a nurse-led intervention consisting of a well-being assessment, development of a life purpose statement, and action planning related to self-care and support for caregivers.
The goal of this study was to describe the caregivers’ action plans, action plan achievement and life purpose statements.
We used inductive content analysis to code life purpose statements and action plans by 2 coders. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the average number of action plans set per caregiver, the average number of themes coded per action plan and life purpose statement, and the status of goal achievement (i.e., by thematic domain, subdomains). Goal achievement was defined categorically: Achieved, not achieved, and not assessed. The achievement rate was calculated as the proportion of achieved action plans out of the total number of assessed action plans.
The sample (n = 22) was predominantly women, spousal caregivers, and an average age of 62±14.2 years. Thirty-six percent of caregivers were Black and 41% reported financial strain. Action plans comprised five categories: personal health and well-being, social support, home environment, instrumental support and other. The most common topics of life purpose statements were faith and self-care/actualization. Of 85 action plans, 69 were assessed and 66.7% were achieved.
These findings highlight the diversity of values and needs of caregivers and provides insights for additional person-centered support.
Patients and family caregivers perceive burden in care at the end of life differently even when the patient is a physican.
We describe how older adult physicians as prospective patients (hereafter ...“physician-patients”) and family caregivers of physician-patients view burden in care at the end of life.
Interviews with physician-patients (n = 28) and family caregivers (n = 26) of physician-patients who had died were conducted as part of a shared decision-making study. Both groups expressed concerns with burden at the end of life. We coded and analyzed descriptions of burden using inductive and deductive approaches to coding sub-themes as in qualitative description. We then created a conceptual model depicting the relationships among the concepts, returning to the interviews to verify respective contexts.
Unilateral actions taken at different points in the illness trajectory by both groups suggested different concerns about burden occurring in parallel. While everyone anticipated burden associated with care at the end of life, physician-patients made legal and financial arrangements to minimize this burden. Nevertheless several family caregivers described the burden that they experienced. We propose a conceptual model to guide future research and care.
Physician-Patients ‘ clinical insights drive their attempts to alleviate burden on their families. However, family caregivers still experienced burden. Recognizing the parallel perspectives of burden may inform the type and timing of interventions to effectively minimize burden and provide compassionate care to both patients and families at the end of life.
Social support is critical in follow-up of patients after heart transplant (HTx) and positively influences well-being and clinical outcomes such as medication adherence. The purpose of this study was ...to (i) explore received social support variation (emotional and practical) in HTx recipients at country and centre level and (ii) to assess multi-level correlates.
Secondary data analysis of the multi-level cross-sectional BRIGHT study was conducted in 36 HTx centres in 11 countries. Received social support related to medication adherence was measured with emotional and practical sub-scales. The Conceptual Model of Social Networks and Health guided selection of patient, micro (interpersonal and psychosocial), meso (HTx centre) and macro-level (country health system) factors. Descriptive statistics, intraclass correlations, and sequential multiple ordinal mixed logistic regression analysis were used. A total of 1379 adult HTx recipients were included. Patient level correlates (female sex, living alone, and fewer depressive symptoms) and micro-level correlates (higher level of chronic disease management and trust in the healthcare team) were associated with better emotional social support. Similarly, patient level (living alone, younger age, and male sex), micro-level and meso-level (patient and clinician-rated higher level of chronic disease management) were associated with better practical social support. Social support varied at country and centre levels for emotional and practical dimensions.
Social support in HTx recipients varies by country, centre, and was associated with multi-level correlates. Qualitative and longitudinal studies are needed to understand influencing factors of social support for intervention development, improvement of social support, and clinical outcomes.
Among patients with heart failure (HF), fatigue is common and linked to quality of life and functional status. Fatigue is hypothesized to manifest as multiple types, with general and exertional ...components. Unique subtypes of fatigue in HF may require differential assessment and treatment to improve outcomes. We conducted this study to identify fatigue subtypes in persons with prevalent HF in the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) and describe the distribution of characteristics across subtypes.
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 1065 participants with prevalent HF at ARIC visit 5 (2011-2013). We measured exertional fatigue using the Modified Medical Research Council Breathlessness scale and general fatigue using the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System fatigue scale. We used latent class analysis to identify subtypes of fatigue. Number of classes was determined using model fit statistics, and classes were interpreted and assigned fatigue severity rating based on the conditional probability of endorsing survey items given class. We compared characteristics across classes using multinomial regression.
Overall, participants were 54% female and 38% Black with a mean age of 77. We identified 4 latent classes (fatigue subtypes): (1) high general/high exertional fatigue (18%), (2) high general/low exertional fatigue (27%), (3) moderate general/moderate exertional fatigue (20%), and (4) low/no general and exertional fatigue (35%). Female sex, Black race, lower education level, higher body mass index, increased depressive symptoms, and higher prevalence of diabetes were associated with higher levels of general and exertional fatigue.
We identified unique subtypes of fatigue in patients with HF who have not been previously described. Within subtype, general and exertional fatigue were mostly concordant in severity, and exertional fatigue only occurred in conjunction with general fatigue, not alone. Further understanding these fatigue types and their relationships to outcomes may enhance our understanding of the symptom experience and inform prognostication and secondary prevention efforts for persons with HF.
Purpose of Review
This scoping review critically evaluates the psychosocial resilience literature in heart failure (HF), utilizing the Society to Cells Resilience Theory. We reviewed studies ...published in the last five years with the following inclusion criteria: (1) studied resilience or concepts related to resilience including psychological stress or coping; (2) observational, retrospective or prospective, or clinical trials; (3) included adults with HF, their caregivers or providers; and (4) were written in English.
Recent Findings
Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria; most studies were observational (n = 15) and two were intervention studies. Resilience is both a process and capacity, with studies revealing associations between resilience and self-care, medication adherence, quality of life, and depressive symptoms. Interventions demonstrated improved resilience, while factors like caregiver burden, depression, spiritual belief, and coping strategies influenced resilience. Specific periods of resilience occurred when persons with HF patients and their families faced additional challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or care transitions. While individual psychological aspects were the focus of most studies, some studies examined the impact of societal and community factors on resilience. The literature has yet to fully explore the influence of higher-level community and system factors on outcomes.
Summary
Psychosocial resilience in HF is an emerging and multifaceted field, with complex processes, but additional studies are needed to examine structural influences on resilience in HF. Current findings unveil essential future directions for resilience theory development and research. Understanding the interplay between contextual circumstances is crucial for developing targeted interventions which improve resilience.
