The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the specific factors of self-efficacy and the subjective quality of life (QOL) of patients with Left Venticular Assist Device (LVAD).
Research including LVAD patients are recent (less than 2 years) regarding the relationship between self-efficacy and the QOL. Casida, WU, Senkiv and Yong (2016) prove that there is a significant link between these two factors. They found important outcomes including the fact that self-efficacy increases all of the QOLs factors (physical, emotional and social). This is partially due to high adhesion to the medical supervision of the device and beliefs in medical benefit devices on the patient’s health. In a more recent study, the link between self-efficacy and the QOL of LVAD patients was demonstrated. The relationship between self-management and the QOL of patients was also proven (Casida, Wu, Abshire, Ghosh and Yang, on 2017). The study also reports a significant association between self-efficacy and superior cognitive functions. This means that the important score of cognitive functions might result of high levels in self-efficacy. What is really revealed in that self-efficacy impacts all QOLs categories (physical appearance(physics), emotion and social). However, the link between the various components of self-efficacy has not been studied yet. The knowledge about a link between self-efficacy and the QOL is general for LVAD patients.
My research focused on trying to answer the question ” what are the specific factor of self-efficacy that are relevant with the QOL for LVAD patients? “.
Thirteen patients with LVAD completed a questionnaire of the QOL, self-efficacy and they completed an anxiety and depression scale . The criteria exclusion about the patients were the important comorbidity as the effects of a stroke and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In general, the results show a significant link between the total score of self-efficacy and the total score of the QOL of the patients LVAD (r 0,75; p .01). The most important link is the total score of self-efficacy and the physical score of the QOL (r 0,73; p .02). For the specifics factors of self-efficacy, the most important link is between self-efficacy faith and the total QOL (r 0,76; p .01). Also, we notice that there is a significant difference between the QOLs score and the anxious / depressive and not anxious / depressive patients scores.
Finally, the value of research is for the cardiovascular diseases and as the number of cardiac assistance is constantly evolving, because of the few heart transplantations that are available. The various components of self-efficacy can play a mediation role in this type of situation as it can be stressful for the patient. These results confirm this general factor between self-efficacy and the QOL, in particular with the belief of self-efficacy and the QOL, but they may not be a of link between social self-efficacy and the QOL. Limitations of this research are the sample (only 13 patients), a inconsistent audit of the group of patient, the duration of the device that counted from 6 months to 10 years. Future research should investigate this thematic in a longitudinal way (3 to 6 months pre-operation and 3 to 6 months post-operation). For the practical perspective, self-efficacy can be influenced by CBT (Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy), as it would allow the patient to check his/her beliefs and his/her capacity to make specifics tasks. We could make to try him/her the device, to begin a social meaning of a word of the device.
