Self-care in Adults With a Retro-auricular Left Ventricular Assist Device: An Interpretive Description

Alessia Martina Trenta, Michela Luciani, Massimo Moro, Sara Patella, Stefania Di Mauro, Ercole Vellone and Davide Ausili

Clinical Nursing Research, 2022, vol. 31, issue 3, 553-562

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.

Keywords: LVAD; heart failure; self-care; interpretive description; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:clnure:v:31:y:2022:i:3:p:553-562

DOI: 10.1177/10547738211063538

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