title: Effects and consequences of caring for persons with heart failure: (ECCUPENIC study) a nested case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Primary: To report a research protocol to analyse the relationship between the degree of heart failure and the health-related quality of life of patients and their family caregivers. Secondary: To identify the characteristics of heart failure patients and their caregivers and the association between these characteristics and hospital admissions. Moreover, to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between patients' and that of their family caregivers.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  As heart failure progresses, it reduces the patient's quality of life and progressive functional deterioration requires hospital admission and the provision of healthcare resources. The availability of a family caregiver is a key element in addressing and managing this healthcare problem and some research results have associated this factor with the prognosis for heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multicentre cohort nested case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Exploratory analysis: Descriptive statistics, measures of central tendency and dispersion or percentages. Bivariate analysis: Using Student's t-test and chi-square test, anova and non-parametric tests. Survival analysis: Kaplan-Meier curves. Multivariate analysis: Cox's proportional hazards model. All calculations performed with an alpha level of 0·05.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lack of family support for patients with HF or greater duration of care is associated with more hospitalizations and increased depression among caregivers. Further longitudinal studies with a large population sample are required.
authors.affiliation: Costa del Sol Public Healthcare Agency, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5539-396X
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Timonet Andreu
authors.affiliation: Nursing and Podiatry Department/Research Methods and Evidence, Health Sciences School, University of Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: José Miguel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7911-7487
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Morales Asencio
authors.affiliation: Costa del Sol Public Healthcare Agency, Marbella, Spain.|Health Sciences School, University of Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: José Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Canca Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Pneumology Unit, Costa del Sol Public Healthcare Agency, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Juana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sepulveda Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Unit, Costa del Sol Public Healthcare Agency, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mesa Rico
authors.affiliation: Costa del Sol Public Healthcare Agency, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rivas Ruiz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: caregivers; health-related quality of life; heart failure; hospital admissions; nursing