Identification of coping strategies used by heart transplant recipients

Abstract

Heart transplantation confronts the patient with major physical, psychological and social demands. Psychological adjustment to these stressors requires effective coping abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the coping mechanisms used by heart transplant recipients. A group of 42 heart transplant recipients completed the questionnaire. The instrument, F-COPES (Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales), was used to measure coping behaviours, thereby producing scores on five coping subscales: Acquiring social support; Reframing; Seeking spiritual support; Mobilizing family to accept help; and Passive appraisal. The results indicated that subjects in the present study (Scottish patients) scored slightly higher than normative subjects (American patients) on the Reframing subscale, slightly lower on the two subscales Acquiring social support and Mobilizing family to accept help, and much lower on Spiritual support. These results also indicated that the coping strategies used by this sample appeared to be largely independent of the time elapsed since transplantation, and the age of the subject. The major finding was that subjects scored much higher on the Passive appraisal coping subscale (almost double the score of the normative subjects).

Factors associated with stress and coping at 5 and 10 years after heart transplantation

“…Use of passive coping was also reported more frequently in heart transplant patients as compared to a reference group of normative patients up to two years after surgery. 20 Furthermore, passive coping was reported more frequently in depressed patients versus patients who were not depressed long term after transplant. 17 The literature from other populations of patients, including patients with diabetes and cancer, is equivocal regarding the relationships between negative coping styles (i.e., evasive and emotive coping), stress, and depression.…”

“…Coping styles used by patients after transplant include optimism, seeking social support, having faith denial/avoidance, passivity, and fatalistic coping. 12, 20–22 Use and perceived effectiveness of coping styles have been related to quality of life and physical functioning after transplant. 1, 14, 22, 23 Given that heart transplant-related stressors and coping are related to outcomes early after transplant, it is important to understand these relationships long-term after transplant, especially given the potential for ongoing and new heart-transplant related adverse events across time.…”

Biopsychosocial predictors of coping strategies of patients postmyocardial infarction

“…The subscale for mobilizing family to acquire and accept help measures the family's ability to seek community resources and accept help from others . Seeking community assistance is an example of this coping strategy . Employed patients might have more resources in the workplace; therefore, they might not need to seek community resources.…”

“…22 Seeking community assistance is an example of this coping strategy. 39 Employed patients might have more resources in the workplace; therefore, they might not need to seek community resources.…”

Psychological distress of surgical patients after orthotopic heart transplantation

“…Such changes affect memory improvement [21] and deterioration of the relationship with spouse within a period of 1-5 years after surgery [4] or of coping strategies. Alteration of coping strategies, however, has been reported to be independent of the time elapsed since transplantation [13]. Nonetheless, in the long term (9-13 years following OHT), the psychological condition of surviving patients has been shown to be comparable to that of the general population [12].…”