Background: Living with heart failure, a debilitating disease with an unpredictable course, requires ongoing adaptation and management not only from patients but also from their families. Family caregivers have been known to be key facilitators of self-management of heart failure. An integrative understanding of the experiences of family caregivers will provide essential information for improving the quality of life of persons with heart failure and their families. Aims: This study aimed to integrate and synthesize the findings of qualitative studies on family members’ experiences of caring for patients with heart failure. Methods: We employed the meta-ethnography methodology. Five electronic bibliographic databases were used to retrieve studies published from April 2009–March 2019 that explored family caregivers’ experiences of caring for patients with heart failure. Twelve qualitative studies were finally included for the synthesis, based on the eligibility criteria. Results: Three themes were identified: “shouldering the entire burden,” “starting a new life,” and “balancing caregiving and everyday life.” These three themes illustrate how family caregivers fulfilled caregiving roles, what helped them juggle their multiple responsibilities, and how they struck a balance between life as caregivers and individuals in their own right. Conclusion: This review provides a deeper understanding of family caregivers’ experiences of caring for patients with heart failure. The findings can help healthcare providers in the development and implementation of tailored interventions for both patients and family caregivers.

AimsTo explore heart failure patients’ needs and perspectives for using mobile health technology at home before developing a mobile phone‐based heart failure self‐care intervention.DesignA qualitative interview study.MethodsPurposive sampling was used to conduct semi‐structured individual interviews with patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure (N = 20). Data were collected from November 2018 – May 2019. All interviews were audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim and data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe four themes that emerged from the interviews were as follows: ‘The demand for reliable and customized health information’, ‘Valuable features of mobile phone applications’, ‘Barriers to adopting mobile health service’, and ‘Expected benefits of using mobile health technology’. Participants in this study required personalized health‐related information and reminders for improving their self‐care behaviours. However, while difficulties in using mobile phone applications posed the main obstacle, users expected mobile health services to improve their overall quality of life.ConclusionDespite mobile phone technology's potential benefits for effective self‐care strategies at home, there were some obstacles such as security issues, application costs, and the need for user friendly designs and reliable information for patients’ optimal use.ImpactThis study highlights that healthcare professionals should consider patients’ needs and preferences to promote the acceptability of mobile health technology. This study's findings can guide the future design and implementation of mobile health interventions for improving self‐care among patients with heart failure.

Aim To understand nurse resilience by integrating the qualitative research results on nurses’ resilience-related experiences. Methods We applied the seven steps of the meta-ethnographic process by Noblit and Hare (1988). Five databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL and PsycINFO) were used to search for relevant studies published from January 2011 to September 2021. Results Sixteen qualitative studies were included. The four themes of “self-development based on one’s inner self”, “fostering a positive attitude towards life”, “developing personal strategies for overcoming adversity” and “building professionalism to become a better nurse” illustrate that they want to improve their inner strength and develop themselves through self-examination. Conclusion In this study, we examined nurse resilience, and the results can provide fundamental conclusions useful for the development of an intervention study to improve nurse resilience.

Cognitive impairment is more prevalent in heart failure (HF) patients. Anemia can influence cognitive ability and is likely more prevalent in elderly patients with HF. However, there are limited data on the association of anemia with cognitive impairment in elderly HF patients. This study aimed to identify the association between anemia and cognitive impairment in elderly HF patients. This secondary data analysis included 181 patients aged 60 years or older with HF. Patients were categorized into an anemic or non-anemic group based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. We assessed the cognitive function using the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) at the time of enrollment. The prevalence of anemia and cognitive impairment in older patients with HF was the same at 35.4%. The main finding of the multiple logistic regression indicated that compared to a non-anemic status, anemia increased the risk of cognitive impairment (odds ratio (OR) = 4.268, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.898–9.593, p < 0.001). Healthcare providers should recognize the value of the significance of early assessment of anemic status and cognitive function following HF. A prospective cohort study should identify the pathway of the association between anemia and incidence of cognitive impairment.

Aim: The bedridden elderly with moderate-to-severe dementia account for a large proportion of the residents in nursing homes and form a specialized group requiring customized care in order to encourage their remaining functions, which determine the quality of their residual life. The purpose of this study was to search for ways to invigorate and foster the remaining functions of this complex-disability group, based on practical nursing strategies in nursing homes. Methods: The qualitative thematic analysis was done by conducting in-depth interviews with 29 nurses working at 11 different nursing homes in South Korea.Results: This study proposed four main themes and 19 sub themes as keys for providing specialized nursing care to the elderly with physical and cognitive disabilities. The main themes encourage the residents' remaining functions: (i) accurate identification of an elderly resident's physical, cognitive, and behavioral baseline is necessary in order to determine their functional levels; (ii) nurses provide meticulous management to support the remaining functions in order to prevent further deterioration; (iii) optimized know-how, based on accumulated experience and knowledge, is reflected in nursing strategies that maximize the effects of nursing interventions; and (iv) steady compliance with nursing guidelines and standards in nursing homes creates the best therapeutic environment and brings unexpected positive changes in the elderly's status. Conclusion: A practical nursing strategy to target the group with a demented and complex disability in nursing homes was developed through thematic analysis of the empirical knowledge of nurses. The findings provide new insights for developing specialized nursing interventions and practical nursing models in longterm care facilities.

Aims:To systematically review and synthesize qualitative evidence related to decisionmaking for treatment modalities among older adults with end-stage renal disease. Design:A meta-synthesis of the qualitative research was conducted. Data sources: A comprehensive literature review using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Sciences and Cochrane was systematically conducted. Qualitative studies published in English from January 2010 to October 2020 were considered. Review methods: Qualitative studies were systematically identified and critically appraised. Data synthesis was performed independently by two reviewers. This review followed the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research statement.Results: Seven qualitative studies, with publication years ranging from 2015 to 2019, were included in the analysis. Overall, the review comprised studies with a total of 133 participants aged between 61 and 93 years. Through meta-synthesis, three themes were identified: 'reflecting on treatment options', 'confronting difficult decisions' and 'maintaining hope in everyday life'. Conclusion:Our findings reflect that older adults have varying preferences for treatment options. These preferences are influenced by various factors such as considering

As the number of patients with hemodialysis (HD) continues to increase, so too does the number of people depending on caregivers. There is need to pay attention to the lives of caregivers of patients with HD, where sacrifices are forced. This study systematically reviewed and synthesized qualitative studies that explored the experiences of caregivers caring for patients with HD using the meta-synthesis method. We searched literature using four databases (i.e., PubMed, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Web of Science), and finally ten publications were selected. Four themes and nine subtopics were derived from analyzing and synthesizing the research results. The synthesized themes were: “bearing the burden of life as a caregiver,” “reconstructing life to maintain hemodialysis”, “the fading of caregiver’s own life,” and “effort to relieve the burden.” The results of this study can contribute to the development of interventional studies to improve the quality of life of HD patients. These studies provide an integrated and in-depth perspective on the experiences of caregivers who care for HD patients.

Purpose: To systematically review the qualitative research related to the person-centered care experience of nursing home workers, and synthesize the results to integrate understanding.Methods: Noblit and Hare’s meta-ethnography method was applied. Seven databases were used to search the literature: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, RISS, National Assembly Library, and Korea Citation Index (KCI).Results: Eight qualitative studies were included for the review. Three themes were synthesized: “Comprehensive understanding of nursing home residents”, “Narrowing the psychological distance with residents”, and “Moving towards the provision of tailored care”.Conclusion: Through this study, it was possible to improve the understanding of person-centered care experienced by nursing home workers. The results of this study suggest a direction for the development of person-centered care in elderly care facilities, and provide evidence for further research.