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Waiting for lung transplantation: quality of life, mood, caregiving strain and benefit, and social intimacy of spouses
Author(s) -
Rodrigue James R.,
Baz Maher A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
clinical transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1399-0012
pISSN - 0902-0063
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-0012.2007.00729.x
Subject(s) - medicine , mood , quality of life (healthcare) , feeling , psychological intervention , social support , lung transplantation , profile of mood states , transplantation , clinical psychology , gerontology , psychiatry , psychology , psychotherapist , nursing , social psychology
Background: The emotional and physical well‐being of lung transplant patients is enhanced by the availability and stability of a primary caregiver. Methods: We describe the quality of life (QOL), mood, caregiving strain and benefits, and social intimacy of 73 lung transplant caregivers who completed the QOL Inventory, SF‐36 Health Survey, Profile of Mood States, Caregiver Strain Index, Caregiver Benefit Index, and Miller Social Intimacy Scale. Results: Clinically low QOL was reported by 17.8–35.6% of spouses. Relative to a normative sample, spouses reported significantly lower physical ( z = 4.01, p < 0.001) and emotional ( z = 7.01, p < 0.001) QOL. Over half (56.2%) had clinically elevated caregiving strain. Heightened physical strain (80.8%), inconvenience (79.5%), feeling confined (72.6%), feeling upset that patient has changed so much (69.9%) contributed most to caregiver strain, while discovering inner strength (60.3%), support from others (53.4%), and realizing what is important in life (42.5%) were noted caregiving benefits. Higher caregiving strain was associated with more mood disturbance ( r = 0.42, p < 0.001), lower emotional QOL ( r = −0.39, p < 0.002), lower social intimacy ( r = −0.37, p < 0.002), and longer disease duration ( r = 0.55, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Spouses of patients awaiting lung transplantation may experience QOL deficits and high caregiver strain. Interventions to improve QOL and reduce caregiver strain are needed.