Fatigue after heart transplantation - a possible barrier to self-efficacy.
Matilda Almgren, Pia Lundqvist, Annette Lennerling and 1 others
PMID 33369757WHAT IT FOUND
Heart transplant recipients who reported more fatigue also reported less confidence in managing their condition.
Mental fatigue and reduced motivation were the closest links to lower confidence.
Key findings
01Heart transplant recipients with high general fatigue reported lower self-efficacy than those with low general fatigue.
02Mental fatigue and reduced motivation showed the strongest associations with self-efficacy among the fatigue dimensions.
03The link between mental fatigue, reduced motivation, and self-efficacy remained after accounting for age and sex.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that fatigue caused lower confidence. The sample was small, and people at each follow-up year were analysed together, so year-by-year differences are uncertain. Serious illness and ongoing treatment for acute rejection were excluded, so the findings may not apply to more unwell recipients. Some participants did not return questionnaires, and reasons for dropout were not consistently documented. The Swedish self-efficacy scale was translated but not psychometrically tested in this study. The fatigue instrument measured symptom levels but did not show how fatigue affected each person's daily life.
Declared interests
Funded by the Swedish Research Council Agreement concerning research and education of doctors. No other conflicts of interest are reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that fatigue causes low confidence or that treating fatigue will improve self-management. This was a cross-sectional survey of patient reports, so it shows association, not cause.