Measuring Quality of Life in Spouses of Post-Myocardial Infarction Patients

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis investigation was to determine the responsiveness and validity of a previously developed evaluative instrument (QL-SP), purported to measure quality of life in spouses of patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction. The 26 questions of the index address emotional concerns, functional limitations, sleep disturbances, and lifestyle changes; they are categorized into the Emotional Function Dimension (EFD) , and the Physical and Social Function Dimension (PSFD). Subjects (n=39) completed the QL-SP and a battery of established questionnaires during home visitations, 1-2 weeks after the patient member of the pair had been discharged from the hospital, and 8 weeks later. Predicted associations were derived according to standardized consensus methods suggesting how changes in the QL-SP dimensions should correlate with changes in the other indexes. Scores on the QL-SP between admission to the study and the second visit were improved for both the emotional function (t = 5.56, p < 0.001), and physical and social function (t = 6.11, p < 0.001) dimensions. The agreement between predicted and observed relationships, as measured statistically by a Kappa with Cicchetti weights, was significant (Kw = 0.43, p = 0.0012). The QL-SP appears to be a responsive and valid measure of quality of life in spouses of MI patients related to their partner's illness. It may be useful in clinical practice as a routine periodic assessment throughout the post-MI convalescent period, and as an evaluation tool for intervention strategies.