Living with fatigue in patients with chronic heart failure
How to support people with heart failure suffering from fatigue in everyday life? Using focus groups, we explore their needs in a participatory way and derive recommendations for future support services.
Factsheet
- Schools involved School of Health Professions
- Institute(s) Academic-Practice-Partnership Insel Gruppe/ BFH
- Funding organisation BFH
- Duration 01.09.2023 - 31.07.2024
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schmitt
- Project staff Gesche Gleichner
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Partner
Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern
Förderorganisation Schweizerische Herzstiftung - Keywords fatigue, heart failure, quality of life, self-management, support services, mixed methods
Situation
An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people in Switzerland live with heart failure (HF), with 5,000 to 10,000 new cases each year. The condition is chronic and cannot be cured. Fatigue, a lack of energy and strength that is not relieved by rest, is one of its most common symptoms, affecting 30 to 96% of patients depending on the study. The longer the disease lasts, the more central fatigue becomes in daily life. It limits people physically, psychologically, socially and cognitively, is hard to predict, and often leads to social isolation and reduced participation. Several approaches addressing different lifestyle domains have been described to support self-management. However, a systematic, patient-centred assessment of the needs of people with HF and fatigue in the Swiss context is still lacking. Yet those affected know best what helps them in everyday life, what they have tried themselves, and where and how they would like support. The project builds on a situation analysis of fatigue in HF carried out at Inselspital in 2023/2024. Its aim is to identify and prioritise the key needs and support requirements of people affected. The results will provide a basis for evidence-based, patient-centred support services and for further research projects.
Course of action
The needs assessment uses a participatory approach based on focus group interviews. This qualitative method enables in-depth dialogue and is particularly suited to capturing subjective everyday experiences and needs in a structured way. A literature review forms the basis for developing a semi-structured interview guide. Participants are recruited with the support of the Swiss Heart Foundation. Two focus groups with six to eight people each are planned. The discussions are documented through audio recording and knowledge mapping and analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz. The results are prioritised needs, concrete recommendations and a roadmap for developing future support services.
