Anxiety and depression management in primary care setting
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Learning from Heart Failure Nurses and Patients: Exploring their Perspectives in the management of anxiety and depression in primary care settings
IRAS ID
268951
Contact name
Sameera Helal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kings College of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by the inability of the heart to pump an adequate amount of blood. Heart failure affects patients' ability to carry out even simple activities of daily living and therefore has a negative psychological impact. Many studies reported that anxiety and depression are prevalent among HF patients and it is being associated with high morbidity, mortality and costs. The European Society of Cardiology guidelines stresses the importance of routine depression screening with a validated questionnaire and initiating treatment for depression for all depressed HF patients.
The community heart failure nurses provide the integrated heart failure service in the local area of Southwark and Lambeth in South London. The aim of the integrated heart failure team in the community is to provide the HF treatment effectively, help patients understand and manage their symptoms and support with lifestyle changes. Even though, the community HF nurses have an extensive role in managing HF patients in the community, their role in assessing anxiety and depression; and providing psychological treatment need to be further explored.
Therefore, there is a need to assess the process by which community HF nurses assess and manage anxiety and depression. This current study builds on our recent systematic review which illustrated that cognitive behavior therapy could be effective in improving depressive symptoms in HF, but more studies are needed to build on these findings. The findings from this review will be used to examine the perspectives on assessing, managing and treating depression and anxiety in HF patients.
In this current study, two focus groups (A and B) will be undertaken to explore the community heart failure nurses’ and HF patients’ views and experiences of managing anxiety and depression and to assess whether COMPASS, a web-based COMPASS intervention would be useful.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0173
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion