Mental health and quality of life outcomes in family members of patients with chronic critical illness admitted to the intensive care units of two Brazilian hospitals serving the extremes of the socioeconomic spectrum

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 9; p. e0221218
• Main Authors: Fumis, Renata Rego Lins, Ferraz, Antonio Bento, de Castro, Isac, Barros de Oliveira, Henrique Souza, Moock, Marcelo, Junior, José Mauro Vieira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 13.09.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Activities of Daily Living - psychology; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; Biology and Life Sciences; Brazil; Caregivers; Chronic Disease; Critical care; Critical Illness - psychology; Critically ill persons; Demographic aspects; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression - psychology; Domains; Education; Family; Family - psychology; Family health; Family relations; Family structure; Female; Health aspects; Hospital systems; Hospitals; Hospitals, Private; Hospitals, Public; Humans; Illnesses; Income; Intensive care; Intensive Care Units; Low income groups; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Patients; Prospective Studies; Psychological aspects; Public health; Public hospitals; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Regression models; Social Class; Social Sciences; Socioeconomics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time Factors; Ventilators; World health; Brazil
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221218

Chronic critical illness (CCI) is a relevant clinical, social and financial health issue. The aim of this study was to compare the mental outcomes (symptoms of anxiety and depression) and quality of life outcomes of the family members of patients with CCI from different socioeconomic backgrounds who were admitted to one of the intensive care units (ICUs) in two Brazilian hospitals, one private and one public. It is a prospective study involving a public hospital that serves a low-income population and a tertiary private hospital that serves a high-income population. Family members of patients with CCI answered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and The World Health Organization Quality of Life-WHOQOL-bref questionnaires. They responded to the European Quality of life Five Dimension three Level (EuroQol-5D-3L) and the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) questionnaires on behalf of the patients at three time points: during the ICU stay, 30 and 90 days after the patient was discharged. We used logistic regression models to evaluate the main predictors of a binary outcome regarding symptoms of anxiety and depression. We enrolled 186 patients with CCI. Many patients from public hospitals who were independent became dependent for their ADLs at 90 days (41.7% versus 14.3%, p = 0.03). At 30 days, family members from public hospital had worse impact on all domains of WHOQOL-bref compared with families from private hospital. At 90-days, the difference persists in the physical domain, worse for families from public hospital (p = 0.006). The symptoms of depression at 30-days (p = 0.008) and at 90-days (p = 0.013) were worse in the public hospital. CCIs affected quality of life and the emotional condition of family members, especially in families with fewer resources when the patients became more dependent. Family members with higher education were more likely to experience depression, while depression was associated with cohabiting with the patient in low-income families.