对于心力衰竭患者的护理人员, challenges mount in rural areas

Living in a rural area increases the difficulty of caring for someone with heart failure, 根据一项新的研究.

估计有6人.500万美元.S. 20岁及以上的成年人有心力衰竭, a serious condition that develops when the heart can't pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs in the body. People with heart failure often experience fatigue and shortness of breath, 是什么让日常活动变得困难.

这项研究, presented recently at the 美国心脏协会's 科学会议 meeting in Chicago, surveyed 530 caregivers of people with heart failure living in the U.S.加拿大和美国部分地区.K.

Researchers found that caregiver burden — the stress caregivers perceive about their caretaking role — was three times higher for every extra task that rural caregivers reported compared to urban caregivers.

该研究的主要作者Dr. 露辛达雕刻, an assistant professor at Florida State University College of Nursing in Tallahassee, said health care providers often don't account for geographic location when working with heart failure patients and caregivers.

Graven noted that logistical issues such as transportation can impact care if patients and caregivers don't own cars. She said that's the case for some of her own heart failure patients, 这使得预约变得困难.

"I don't think we're considering what rural patients and caregivers have to work with when we're making decisions in the clinic,格雷文说. "We need to help them determine the resources they need, and how to get them."

接受调查的大多数护理人员都是白人. 近一半是患者的配偶，一半是男性. 他们的平均年龄是41岁.

护理人员回答了有关他们执行的任务的问题, including shopping and housekeeping; managing health insurance forms, doctor's appointments and prescriptions; and helping patients bathe, 穿好衣服，上厕所. Caregivers were also asked about the social support they received and their problem-solving skills, 家庭满意度与心理健康.

这项研究 could not determine why it was more difficult for caregivers in rural areas. 但博士. 桑德拉·邓巴有一些猜测.

邓巴, the senior associate dean at Emory School of Nursing in Atlanta who was not involved with the study, said people in rural communities tend to have lower incomes and are farther away from medical care, 是什么导致了这个问题. They also can be isolated from other family members or the community, she said.

Patients who require hospitalization may have to travel hours to get to the closest facility, 进一步将他们与家庭或社区支持隔离开来, 邓巴说.

"You can imagine how anxiety-provoking that is, especially when you're farther from home," she said. "I've seen caregivers basically camped out in the family waiting room, sleeping there for days because they don't have the ability to go back and forth. 就我个人而言, 这是令人心碎的, and I applaud hospitals that have added greater support for these types of situations."

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