title: Psychological distress among caregivers to heart transplant recipients.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that family caregivers to heart transplant recipients may experience higher than average levels of distress during the period post-transplant and explore the correlates of distress, 83 caregivers were interviewed 3 times during the first year post-transplant and evaluated on predisposing and psychosocial characteristics. Mean distress was significantly elevated above community norms at initial assessment but subsided as the year progressed. Multiple regression analyses showed that: (a) employment status and caregivers' physical health were strong predictors of post-transplant distress while psychiatric history was not; (b) the burden of caregiving was associated with increased distress early post-transplant but not in later months; and (c) intrapersonal and social support resources early post-transplant were associated with distress both short-term and long-term. Interventions targeted at these environmental and personal factors may be important for minimizing negative effects of the transplant experience on family caregivers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Canning
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dew
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications