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Palliative Medicine
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*Heart Failure
*Palliative Care
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What's this?

Patient work in end-stage heart failure: a prospective longitudinal multiple case study

DL Willems

Department of General Practice, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, d.l.willems{at}amc.uva.nl

A Hak

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam

FC Visser

Department of Cardiology, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam

J Cornel

Department of Cardiology, Medical Centre Alkmaar, Alkmaar

G van der Wal

Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam

Objective: The most recent WHO definition of palliative care regards living as actively as possible as an important aim. We explored, over a 1-year period, the work this involves for patients with end-stage heart failure. Design: Prospective longitudinal multiple case study using qualitative interview techniques. Participants: Thirty-one respondents from two hospitals who fulfilled one or more of the following criteria: NYHA III or IV, ejection fraction B/25%, at least one hospitalization for heart failure. Main outcomes: Types and content of patient work involved in living with end-stage heart failure. Results: For patients with advanced heart failure, work consisted mainly of four types of tasks, as identified by Glaser and Strauss: ‘managing illness’, ‘everyday work to keep life going’, ‘biographical work’ and ‘arrangement work’. Conclusions: Systematic attention to patient work, for example using these four categories, could improve the quality of care from the patient’s perspective.

Key Words: heart failure • palliative care • patient work

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 1, 25-33 (2006)
DOI: 10.1191/0269216306pm1095oa
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