Patient-Centered Care and Self-Care Education in Ventricular Assist Device Patients

Widmar, S. Brian

Saturday, 29 October 2011

S. Brian Widmar, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Ann F. Minnick, PhD, RN, FAAN
School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Michael W. Vollman, PhD, RN
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, TN
Mary S. Dietrich, PhD
Schools of Nursing and Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Kathleen L. Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN
Center for Heart Failure, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Division of Cardiac Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to describe care structure and VAD self-care education processes used in hospitals.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to describe VAD patient reports of patient-centered care and what patient-centered care expectations are perceived as important.

Significance:

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are increasingly being used as treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure or as a means to sustain patient survival until cardiac transplantation. These patients must manage a complex self-care regimen after surgery. Current self-care education processes used among implant hospital centers in the United States have not been described. VAD patient reports of patient-centered care and satisfaction with care have not been described. Understanding processes of self-care education and patient satisfaction with patient-centered care after ventricular assist device implantation is necessary to developing or improving methods used for self-care education delivery in VAD hospitals.

Purpose:

To describe care structure and VAD self-care education processes used in hospitals, VAD patient reports of patient-centered care and what patient-centered care expectations are important to VAD patients.

Design:

Prospective cross-sectional descriptive design

Methods:

A survey of all VAD implant hospital centers in the United States will be obtained in order to describe self-care education practices in hospitals after VAD implantation. A telephone interview of VAD patients within one VAD implant medical center will be used to describe patient reports of patient-centered care and reports of importance of patient-centered care expectations relative to VAD self-care education.

Results:

This dissertation study is currently in progress.

Implications:

The knowledge gained with this dissertation study will be used to identify components of healthcare structure and care processes that are important in preparing VAD patients for successful self-care after hospital discharge. Through describing VAD patient satisfaction with care processes and by identifying which aspects of patient-centered care that VAD patients perceive as most important to their outpatient success, nursing may contribute a greater role in development of supportive interventions aimed at mastery of required self-care behaviors.

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