Quality of life and palliative care needs of elderly patients with advanced heart failure

H.Y.L. Chan, D.S.F. Yu, Yin Ping Leung, A.W.K. Chan, E. Hui

Research output: Journal article publicationConference articleAcademic researchpeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

©2016 JGC All rights reserved.Objective: To examine the quality of life and palliative care needs of elderly patients with advanced heart failure (HF). Methods: This was a correlation descriptive study conducted at a 650-bed sub-acute hospital. Patients who were aged 65 or over, diagnosed with HF of New York Heart Association Class III or IV symptoms, and mentally sound were eligible to the study. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, the overall quality of life single item scale, and the McQill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQoL), were used for measurement. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine factors for predicting quality of life. Results: A convenience sample of 112 patients was recruited. Their age was 81.5 ± 8.5 years. The three most distressing symptoms reported by the patients were tiredness (5.96 ± 2.78), drowsiness (5.47 ± 2.93), and shortness of breath (5.34 ± 2.96). Their mean overall quality of life single item scale score was 4.72 ± 2.06 out of 10. The mean MQoL physical subscale score was the lowest (4.20 ± 1.767), whereas their mean psychological subscale was the highest (7.14 ± 2.39). However, in a multivariate analysis model, quality of life was significantly associated with existential wellbeing, physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing and educational level. Conclusions: The findings highlight that spiritual concerns are significant palliative care needs among elderly patients with advanced HF, in addition to symptom management. This is in line with the argument that palliative care that places great emphasis on holistic care should be integrated to the care of this group of patients.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)420-424
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Geriatric Cardiology
Volume13
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Assessment
  • Heart failure
  • Palliative care
  • The elderly

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geriatrics and Gerontology
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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