1. Self-care in Adults With a Retro-auricular Left Ventricular Assist Device: An Interpretive Description.
- Author
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Trenta, Alessia Martina, Luciani, Michela, Moro, Massimo, Patella, Sara, Di Mauro, Stefania, Vellone, Ercole, and Ausil, Davide
- Subjects
LEFT heart ventricle surgery ,HEART failure treatment ,SOCIAL support ,RESEARCH methodology ,HEART assist devices ,INTERVIEWING ,ACTIVITIES of daily living ,PATIENTS' attitudes ,EXPERIENCE ,LEARNING ,FIELD notes (Science) ,HEALTH behavior ,THEMATIC analysis ,JUDGMENT sampling ,PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation ,HEALTH self-care ,DIFFUSION of innovations ,OLD age ,MIDDLE age - Abstract
Having a retro-auricular left ventricular assist device (LVAD) requires patients to learn specific self-care behaviors, with a considerable burden; the present study aimed at exploring and describing the experience of self-care in this population. An Interpretive Description was conducted, informing the analysis with the Middle-Range Theory of Self-care of Chronic Illness. A purposeful sample of ten people with a retro-auricular LVAD participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Four themes were identified: Innovations and Limitations in Daily Life, Problems Detection, Response to Problems, and Learning Process. All of these were deeply influenced by a cross-cutting theme: Support System. People with a retro-auricular LVAD have self-care needs different from those of people with heart failure or with the abdominal version of the device, and there is a great need for targeted intervention that could be developed in consideration of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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