Journal of clinical nursing
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Comparative Study
The effects of age on quality of life in implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients.
The implantable cardioverter defibrillator shows superiority over conventional pharmacological therapy. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator has been implanted with increasing frequency in patients who are either at risk for or have experienced a life-threatening dysrhythmia. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients experience a myriad of physical, emotional and social adjustments, with little being known about the impact of age on trajectory. AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN: Therefore the purpose of the study is to examine the effects of age on health status, quality of life, and mood states of implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients during the first year after implantation using a repeated measures design. ⋯ Comparison of the SF-36 with other populations with or without a medical condition revealed scores below norms in physical health for both groups, and only slightly higher than patients with heart failure for the older group.
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This paper presents research that was framed by our early understandings about the ways that people incorporate the consequences of illness into their lives. The word 'transition' has been used to describe this process. We believed self-management to be central to the transition process but this assertion required further research, hence this paper. ⋯ Clinical nursing intervention for people with a long term illness may be enhanced when self-management is approached from a broad, contextual perspective and self-management processes are integrated into clinical practice. The challenge is for nurses to embrace processes in nursing practice that will facilitate interactions with clients without obstructing the diversity of perspectives, create an environment conducive to learning and engage individuals in identifying self-management strategies that have meaning in their lives.
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This study aimed to assess whether nurses working in intensive care units view the establishment of communication with patients beyond therapeutic possibilities as an effective palliative therapeutic resource, and which aspects of this communication they valued most. ⋯ Although the number of interviewed nurses in our study was small, the results corroborated the findings of other studies and revealed an educational aspect in nursing training that deserves serious consideration.