Hearing Loss: Patient-caregiver Dyad Effects On Quality Of Life
This study emphasizes that the QoL for patients and their caregivers was directly related to the coping strategies they used.
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Research article overview in layman's terms.
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a condition that affects a person's ability to hear and often leads to lifestyle changes. Caregivers of people with ARHL can also be impacted emotionally and their quality of life (QOL) may suffer. A research study looked at the interactions between patients and caregivers with ARHL, referred to as patient-caregiver dyads, to determine the effects of coping strategies on the QOL of both the patients and the caregivers.
The study found that when patients used skills such as social support, problem solving, and positive thinking, their caregivers reported a higher environmental QOL. These results suggest that targeted interventions should be offered to help patients and their caregivers implement more effective coping strategies to improve their emotional status and QOL.
Coping with age-related hearing loss: patient-caregiver dyad effects on quality of life
Abstract
Patient-caregiver Dyad Effectsand aims
Patients with age -related hearing loss (ARHL) and their natural caregivers have to confront a disability that produces progressive lifestyle changes. There is an interest in studying the ability of patients and their caregivers to cope with the difficulties that affect quality of life (QoL). In a sample of patient-caregiver dyads in the specific context of ARHL, we examine whether the QoL of patients and caregivers is influenced by the coping processes they use from a specific actor's partner interdependence model (APIM).
Methods
This cross-sectional study involved dyads with patients having a diagnosis of ARHL. The self-reported data included QoL (WHOQoL-BREF) and coping strategies (BriefCope). The APIM was used to test the dyadic effects of coping strategies on QoL.
Results
A total of 448 dyads were included; the patients and caregivers were love partners for 59% of the dyads. Coping strategies, such as social support, avoidance, problem solving, and positive thinking, exhibited evidence of actor effects (degree to which the individual's coping strategies are associated with their own QoL). Effects on the partner (degree to which the individual's coping strategies are associated with the QoL of the other member of the dyad) were found, i.e., when the patients mobilized their coping strategy based on social support and problem-solving, their caregivers reported higher environmental QoL.
Conclusion
This study emphasizes that the QoL for patients and their caregivers was directly related to the coping strategies they used. This finding suggests that targeted interventions should be offered to help patients and their relatives to implement more effective coping strategies.
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It’s difficult to find well-informed people on this subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks