Experiences on health-related quality of life of Jordanian patients living with heart failure: A qualitative study

Ahmad Rajeh Saifan, Haneen Abu Hayeah, Ateya Megahed Ibrahim, Alexandra Dimitri, Mahmoud Mohammad Alsaraireh, Hikmat Alakash, Nabeel Al Yateem, Donia Elsaid Zaghamir, Rami A Elshatarat, Muhammad Arsyad Subu, Zyad Taher Saleh and Mohannad Eid AbuRuz

PLOS ONE, 2024, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Quantitative studies have provided valuable statistical insights into Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among patients with Heart Failure (HF), yet they often lack the depth to fully capture the nuanced, subjective experiences of living with HF particularly in the specific context of Jordan. This study explores the personal narratives of HF patients to understand the full impact of HF on their daily lives, revealing HRQoL aspects that quantitative metrics often miss. This is crucial in developing regions, where the increasing prevalence of HF intersects with local healthcare practices, cultural views, and patient expectations, providing key insights for tailored interventions and better patient care. Methods: Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative design, this study conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 25 HF patients to deeply explore their lived experiences. Thematic analysis was employed to identify major themes related to their perceptions of HF as a disease, its impact on various HRQoL domains, and their recommended strategies to enhance HRQoL. Results: The study involved 25 participants (13 males, 12 females), aged 26–88 years (mean 63), with diverse education and heart failure (HF) severities. It revealed three themes: HF perceptions, its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across physical, psychosocial, spiritual, cognitive, and economic domains, and HRQoL improvement strategies. Participants had varied HF knowledge; some lacked basic understanding. The physical impact was most significant, affecting daily life and causing symptoms like breathing difficulties, coughing, edema, and fatigue. This physical aspect influenced their psychosocial and spiritual lives, cognitive functions, and economic stability, leading to fear, frustration, worry, social isolation, spiritual and cognitive challenges, and employment problems. Conclusions: The results underscores the need for holistic healthcare approaches, integrating medical, psychological, and social support. Key recommendations include integrated care models, comprehensive patient education, support networks, and policy interventions to enhance HF patient care.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0298893 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 98893&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0298893

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298893

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().