Effect of a multidisciplinary supportive program for family caregivers of patients with heart failure on caregiver burden, quality of life, and depression: A randomized controlled study

‘The importance of planning for the future’: Burden and unmet needs of caregivers’ in advanced heart failure: A mixed methods study

“…27 A further multidisciplinary 3-month supportive programme was tested in China, with 118 patient-caregiver dyads, incorporated information, education and coping strategies, which reported positive effects for caregivers in relation to their mental health, demonstrating a reduction in reported depressive symptoms and caregiver burden. 28 However, questions around timing of such interventions and whether to address caregiver depression prior to or as part of the intervention need further consideration. The caregivers in this study identified the need for support in planning for the future, and the findings suggest that this could be considered a way to alleviate burden.…”

“…23 The trajectory of HF is characterised by periods of decompensation, and caregivers require support to manage these fluctuating symptoms and engage support from family and friends as well as voluntary and social services. 3 Furthermore, while there has been a move towards the development of interventions to support caregivers, [24][25][26][27][28] a number of which have reported small improvements in caregiver outcomes 24,27,28 and others reported having no effect. 25,26 The impact of caring for a person living with advanced HF at the end of life has yet to be characterised, 24 and effective interventions to support caregivers and alleviate burden are warranted.…”

Efecto de una intervención de soporte social en cuidadores de personas con enfermedad crónica

“…En contraste, algunas investigaciones reportan efectividad de las intervenciones donde se hace uso de las TIC (16,17,37,38); se han aplicado seguimientos telefónicos en periodos de tiempo considerables donde ofrecen educación sobre la enfermedad, apoyo emocional y estrategias de resolución de conflictos. Algunas intervenciones disponían de sesiones presenciales grupales y consultas con equipos multidisciplinarios, y como resultado, evidenciaron mejora significativa en la percepción de carga, calidad de vida y niveles de estrés y depresión en los cuidadores.…”

“…Frente a lo descrito, se han empleado diversas estrategias de soporte que incluyen redes o grupos de apoyo, programas de fortalecimiento en habilidades de cuidado y disponibilidad inmediata de atención e información por medio de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC), estas últimas demuestran ser útiles dentro de la experiencia del cuidado de la salud de personas con enfermedad crónica (14,15), especialmente en el apoyo a los cuidadores familiares (15)(16)(17)(18).…”

Caregivers’ burden and other selected problems of patients treated for heart failure

“…Other factors related to symptoms of depression include lack of support from other family members, fear of an uncertain future, significantly reduced material status, readmissions, as well as duration of care [37,38]. However, what is interesting, those who have been looking after someone for less than 1 year showed a higher level of depressive symptoms and experienced greater burden than those with a longer care period.…”