A Mixed Method Pilot Feasibility Study of a Symptom Management Support Intervention for Heart Transplant Recipients With Chronic Pain and Extensive Symptom Distress.
Marita Dalvindt, Hannah Lindahl-Veungen, Annika Kisch and 2 others
PMID 40087829WHAT IT FOUND
Three phone conversations were feasible and acceptable, but overall transplant-specific well-being did not improve significantly.
Only basic activities of daily living improved significantly. Participants said they felt taken seriously for the first time.
Key findings
01The intervention was feasible and acceptable: 14 heart recipients accepted, 13 completed all three conversations, and all participants were satisfied with the format and content.
02Overall transplant-specific well-being did not improve significantly after the intervention (p = 0.539), although basic activities of daily living improved significantly (p = 0.014).
03Qualitative interviews found participants felt listened to, recognised as whole persons, empowered and able to make sense of their symptoms; they said routine follow-up had focused on the graft rather than the person.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 13 heart recipients completed the intervention, so the study cannot show that symptoms improve in a larger group. There was no control group, so it cannot show that the conversations caused the changes. The quantitative findings were described by the authors as purely descriptive because the sample was small. Participants rated being taken seriously and self-efficacy in relation to regular outpatient follow-up, not the intervention, so those scores may not reflect the conversations. Three people declined because of extensive symptom burden and one withdrew after the first conversation, so the most distressed heart recipients may be underrepresented. The conversations were delivered by an experienced cardiac care clinical nurse specialist, so feasibility for other staff or settings is unknown.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that three conversations reduce overall symptom distress. The overall transplant-specific well-being score did not improve significantly (p = 0.539), and the study had only 13 completers and no control group.