Quality of Life in Caregivers Providing Care for Lung Transplant Candidates

Context: Caregivers are essential members of the health care team who provide care, valued at more than $250 billion each year, to millions of persons who require assistance with health and daily care. Patients with respiratory diseases who are waiting for a lung transplant are required to have an identified caregiver. The caregivers are rarely studied.

Objective: To explore the relationships among the health status of caregivers of lung transplant candidates, caregivers' reaction to caregiving, and caregivers' perceived quality of life.

Design: This descriptive study examined the quality of life of lung transplant caregivers from a multidimensional perspective.

Setting And Participants: Twenty-nine dyads of lung transplant candidates and their caregivers were recruited from a Midwestern medical center.

Measures: Data were collected by self-report: caregivers completed the Quality of Life Index, SF-12 health survey, Profile of Mood States-Short Form, and the Caregiver Reaction Assessment.

Results: Caregivers reported favorable levels of quality of life, physical health, and mood during the pretransplant waiting phase. However, problem areas for caregivers during this time included fatigue, depression, and the financial impact of the transplant. Data analyses indicated that depression, caregiver general health, impact on finances, and lack of family support had the greatest effect on caregivers' quality of life. Nurses are urged to recognize the role of caregivers in the transplant process, ask about and listen to caregivers' needs, and include caregivers in the plan of care.