[Actual situations and problems of patients receiving home IVH--trial use of an assessment chart for outpatients].
In order to improve the quality of life (QOL) and continue nursing, we used an assessment chart to investigate the actual situations and problems of the patients receiving home intravenous hyperalimentation (IVH). From January, 1997 to June, 1999, we investigated 20 patients with home IVH. To 7 patients among them, we asked questions using Kurihara's assessment chart for QOL, plus our original questions concerning IVH. The mean age of the patients was 61 years old, and 19 of them had advanced cancers. Forty percent of the patients maintained the IVH all by themselves and 10% of the patients needed the support of their family. The remaining 50% of the patients left all to their family. There were 9 incidents of trouble during the maintenance of the IVH. Almost all patients from whom informed consent had been received were satisfied with the home IVH. On the contrary, all patients who had not given informed consent were not satisfied with the home IVH. According to the results of the assessment chart, even if the total points were low, the points for the IVH were high in the patients had given informed consent. The main reason for lower QOL was pain. The points for the families were lower than those for the patients. They sometimes complained of uneasiness and dissatisfaction with the support they received. We conclude that therapies to improve symptoms and mental state are necessary to satisfy the patients, and that it is important to support not only the patients but also their families.
Kaneko
K
K
Dept. of Nursing, Maebashi Red Cross Hospital.
Fujita
T
T
Harada
H
H
Koyama
S
S
Shinohara
R
R
Tomioka
T
T
Suwa
M
M
Yoshida
K
K
Fukushima
M
M
Kawashima
K
K
Sato
Y
Y
Ikeya
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D016562:Parenteral Nutrition, Home Total / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life