Estudio sobre la percepción de la calidad de vida en una población de pacientes trasplantados cardiacos

Abstract

Introduction. The focus of health professionals is changing, turning towards health as an experience that includes the patient’s well-being. Cardiac transplant patients are especially relevant, they experience difficulties associated with the perception that the heart is the site of emotions and personality traits. The objective is to perceive the quality of life and coping in heart transplant patients. Materials and methods. Descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study in cardiac transplant patients. Included are 60 patients over 18 years of age, transplanted at least six months ago, who can communicate in Spanish and whose state of health allows them to complete the questionnaires: The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), Brief COPE, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS V25 program. Results. The median age was 63 years. The majority were male, retired, and living with a partner. The mean time elapsed since transplantation was nine years. Of these, 74 % define their quality of life as fairly good or very good and demonstrated a high perception of enjoyment and meaning in life. A third presented negative feelings in a moderate way, and 93 % used active coping, accepted reality, and took measures to improve the situation. Conclusions. This study expands the knowledge about the experience of transplant patients. The importance of implementing methodologies that support the patient‘s expression is emphasized, to diagnose possible complications early and initiate new nursing interventions.