The effect of support group intervention for caregivers of individuals with heart failure upon the patient and caregiver outcomes

Objective: This study was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the Dutch Objective Burden Inventory (DOBI) scale for the Turkish society and evaluate the effectiveness of support group intervention for caregivers of individuals with heart failure (HF) upon the patient and caregiver outcomes. Method: Research was composed of two phases with methodological and quasi-experimental parts. The reliability–validity test of DOBI was conducted methodologically on 230 caregivers in the HF clinic-outpatient clinic of a university hospital. Quasi-experimental research was conducted with 69 caregivers as control (n:35) and intervention group (n:34) in the cardiology outpatient clinic of a university hospital. The intervention group participated in support group meetings structured according to Neuman Systems Model and the data were collected from both the intervention and the control group in the before the intervention and 3. and 6. months later. Results: It was found that Turkish version of DOBI is valid and reliable measuring tool with psycholinguistic and psychometric properties. Caregivers in the intervention group had significantly lower burden scores than the control group in all sub-dimensions except objective personal care, in terms of the group*time interaction in a statistical way (p<0.05). Caregivers in the intervention and control group had similar scores of depression symptoms (p>0.05). The quality of life and rehospitalization of patients with HF receiving care from individuals in the intervention group were determined to be similar with that of the control group (p>0.05). Conclusions: DOBI is a reliable and valid instrument. The burden of caregivers in the intervention group showed a statistically significant decrease compared to the pre-intervention in all dimensions at 3 months. Thus, it is suggested to extend the support group interventions for caregivers of patients with heart failure and conduct these interventions in a longer period. Key Words: Caregiver, Heart Failure, Neuman Systems Model, Support Group