Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the objective medical parameters related to congenital heart disease and patients' ratings of cardiac disease severity were related to psychological well-being and illness behaviour during the pre-operative period. Methods: A total of 143 patients (63 male patients; 16-73 years old) with congenital heart disease evaluated the severity of their cardiac condition using a numerical rating scale ranging from 0, indicating the least severe condition, to 100, indicating the most severe condition. Psychological well-being was assessed using the Psychological General Well-Being Index (total score ≤60 indicating severe distress) and illness behaviour using the Illness Behavior Questionnaire. Results: Pre-operative psychological well-being was not related to the objective medical parameters reflecting cardiac disease severity. In contrast, total psychological well-being scores correlated significantly with patients' subjective ratings of disease severity (p < 0.001). When compared with the reference values from the Italian population, the mean scores of the patients on psychological well-being were similar. As regards the Illness Behavior Questionnaire, the scores on denial were higher and those on hypochondria were lower compared with other hospitalised patients. Conclusions: This study shows that the perception of cardiac disease severity, and not the medical parameters in congenital heart disease, is related to the patients' pre-operative psychological state. Thus, more importance needs to be given to assessing the patients' pre-operative perception and psychological state independently of cardiac severity. Targeted interventions with regard to the cardiac condition are recommended.
The impact of actual and perceived disease severity on pre-operative psychological well-being and illness behaviour in adult congenital heart disease patients / E. Callus, E.M.W.J. Utens, E. Quadri, C. Ricci, M. Carminati, A. Giamberti, M. Chessa. - In: CARDIOLOGY IN THE YOUNG. - ISSN 1047-9511. - 24:2(2014 Apr), pp. 275-282.
Titolo: | The impact of actual and perceived disease severity on pre-operative psychological well-being and illness behaviour in adult congenital heart disease patients |
Autori: | |
Parole Chiave: | Paediatric cardiology; psychology; quality of life |
Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: | Settore M-PSI/08 - Psicologia Clinica |
Data di pubblicazione: | apr-2014 |
Rivista: | |
Tipologia: | Article (author) |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1047951113000218 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 01 - Articolo su periodico |
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