Young adult patients' experience of living with mechanical circulatory support: A phenomenological hermeneutical study.
Maria Lachonius, Karl Hederstedt, Åsa B Axelsson
PMID 30918716WHAT IT FOUND
Eight young patients with an external biventricular heart pump described moving from feeling invaded and powerless to regaining control by trusting staff, setting small goals, and seeing the pump as lifesaving.
Their accounts point to support that lets patients manage parts of daily care.
Key findings
01Most participants felt powerless and experienced their own body as strange and invaded by the external pump.
02Trust in healthcare professionals and realistic goals helped participants regain a sense of control over daily life.
03Seven of eight participants eventually came to terms with the pump.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only eight patients were interviewed, so the themes may not capture all experiences of this rare group. The interviews happened after transplant, within one year, so patients recalled the pump treatment retrospectively. All participants were from one Swedish centre, the only centre in Sweden treating this condition with BiVAD. The authors state that no structural changes in care occurred during the 39-month recruitment period, but the small sample still limits transferability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that a self-efficacy intervention improves heart pump outcomes. The study interviewed eight patients after transplant and described experiences, not tested effects.