School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Health Expect. 2022 Jun;25(3):869-884. doi: 10.1111/hex.13451. Epub 2022 Feb 17.
This study aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence on experiences of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during the course of diagnosis and treatment. We addressed three main questions: (a) What were the experiences of patients with AF during the course of diagnosis and treatment? (b) How did they respond to and cope with the disease? (c) What were the requirements during disease management?
In this study, qualitative evidence synthesis was performed using the Thomas and Harden method.
Electronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the China Biomedical Database, the WanFang Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP, were searched. The databases were searched from inception to August 2021.
Two researchers independently selected studies using qualitative assessment and review instruments for quality evaluation and thematic synthesis for the data analysis.
A total of 2627 studies were identified in the initial search and 15 studies were included. Five analytical themes were generated: 'Diagnosing AF'; 'The impact of AF on the patients'; 'Self-reorientation in the therapeutic process'; 'Living with AF and QoL'; and 'External support to facilitate coping strategies.'
Our findings point out unique experiences of patients across the trajectory of AF related to delayed diagnosis, feelings of nonsupport, disappointment of repeated treatment failure and multiple distress associated with unpredictable symptoms. Future research and clinical practice are expected to improve the quality of medical diagnosis and treatment, optimize administrative strategy and provide diverse health support for patients with AF.
Understanding the experiences and needs of patients with AF in the entire disease process will inform future clinical practice in AF integrated management, which would be helpful in improving the professionalism and confidence of healthcare providers. In addition, our findings have implications for improving the effectiveness of AF diagnostic and treatment services.
This paper presents a review of previous studies and did not involve patients or the public.
本研究旨在综合定性证据，了解心房颤动（AF）患者在诊断和治疗过程中的体验。我们主要探讨了三个问题：（a）AF 患者在诊断和治疗过程中有哪些体验？（b）他们如何应对和应对疾病？（c）疾病管理过程中有哪些需求？
本研究采用托马斯和哈登方法进行定性证据综合。
电子数据库，包括 PubMed、Cochrane 图书馆、Embase、Web of Science、护理学及相关健康文献累积索引、中国生物医学文献数据库、万方数据库、中国国家知识基础设施和 VIP，进行了检索。数据库从创建到 2021 年 8 月进行检索。
两名研究人员使用定性评估和审查工具独立选择研究，对质量进行评估，并对数据进行主题综合分析。
初步搜索共确定了 2627 项研究，纳入了 15 项研究。生成了五个分析主题：“诊断 AF”；“AF 对患者的影响”；“治疗过程中的自我定位”；“与 AF 和生活质量相关的生活”；“外部支持以促进应对策略”。
我们的研究结果指出了 AF 患者在整个病程中独特的体验，包括诊断延迟、缺乏支持感、多次治疗失败的失望感以及与不可预测症状相关的多种困扰。未来的研究和临床实践有望提高 AF 医疗诊断和治疗质量，优化管理策略，为 AF 患者提供多样化的健康支持。
了解 AF 患者在整个疾病过程中的体验和需求，将为 AF 综合管理的未来临床实践提供信息，有助于提高医疗保健提供者的专业性和信心。此外，我们的研究结果对提高 AF 诊断和治疗服务的效果具有重要意义。
本文是对以往研究的综述，不涉及患者或公众。
