Congestive Heart Failure Essay

Congestive Heart Failure Essay

Congestive Heart Failure Essay

Caregiving is an essential aspect of public health as it affects millions of individuals; both patients and families with people suffering from terminal or chronic conditions like congestive heart failure (CHF). Caregivers offer assistance with another person’s social and health care needs. The aspects of caregiving include helping with crucial activities for daily living like bathing and dressing, running errands, shopping, paying bills and offering transportation. Caregivers also provide emotional support and assist in managing a chronic situation or disability (Urbich et al., 2020). However, caregiving constitutes significant economic costs to families leading to substantial financial effects on the overall resources over time. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cost of caring for CHF and potential economic impact on the families’ resources.

Cost of Caring for Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

In their study, Kitko et al. (2020) opine that caregiving effects on caregivers and patients are broad and range from physical, psychological, and financial implications. The authors emphasize the need to understand caregivers’ needs to support the complicated medical care given to patients with CHF.  According to the study, the financial cost of caregiving is astronomical because of the time that caregivers spend in their roles. The article asserts that the cost of caregiving was $6.5 billion in 2015. However, this figure is projected to increase to $13.5 by 2035. Further, caregivers shoulder a significant portion of the out-of-pocket costs associated with their different roles. These costs are paired with the irrecoverable income loss, career opportunities and wage benefits leading to financial burdens and more expenses on few people. Older adults, women, and minority populations bear the brunt of these costs. The implication is that these populations are already at an increased risk level for financial insecurity yet they continue to shoulder the burden of CHF.

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A study by Lesyuk et al. (2018) shows that the cost of admission for CHF patients is the most expensive. Individuals suffering from this chronic condition require close medical and health monitoring implying that more resources should be deployed for better outcomes. CHF associated costs depend on the individual patient characteristics like age and presence of comorbidities. Hospitalization remains the core driver of heart-failure associated costs. The implication is that these studies demonstrate the economic burden that congestive heart failure places non caregivers and the families (Nicholas et al., 2018). The economic impact of family caregiving is evident as it implies that existing resources should be channeled to the healthcare needs of one person and the caregiver.

Family caregiving for CHF implies that more resources will be channeled to the course to help improve a patient’s condition. Families use their available resources to do out-of-pocket payments as insurance limitations may hinder their continual use of existing medical and health benefits due to the high costs involved. Families with members suffering from congestive heart disease need to allocate funds to get treatment interventions. CHF is a condition that requires several tests and diagnostic runs making it expensive and draining on the limited resources. These families must seek resources to help them manage the delicate condition and ensure that they do not suffer from potential comorbidities (Lesyuk et al., 2018). Therefore, congestive heart failure is a serious health challenge due to the complex nature of resources used by families. CHF needs close monitoring due to the unpredictable nature of such events.

Conclusion

The cost of caring for CHF patients is a burden to both individual caregivers and families. As indicated, congestive heart failure is a public health issue that requires effective interventions to mitigate the adverse effects and lower the economic burden to society and families. CHF requires effective monitoring and management to reduce the cost burden associated with its increasing prevalence.

References

Kitko, L., McIlvennan, C. K., Bidwell, J. T., Dionne-Odom, J. N., Dunlay, S. M., Lewis, L. M.,

… & American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; Council on Clinical Cardiology; and Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health. (2020). Family caregiving for individuals with heart failure: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 141(22), e864-e878. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000768

Lesyuk, W., Kriza, C., & Kolominsky-Rabas, P. (2018). Cost-of-illness studies in heart failure: a

systematic review 2004–2016. BMC cardiovascular disorders, 18(1), 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-018-0815-3

Nicholas, Dionne-Odom, J., Hooker, S. A., Bekelman, D., Ejem, D., McGhan, G., Kitko, L., … &

Bakitas, M. A. (2017). Family caregiving for persons with heart failure at the intersection of heart failure and palliative care: a state-of-the-science review. Heart failure reviews, 22(5), 543-557. doi: 10.1007/s10741-017-9597-4

Urbich, M., Globe, G., Pantiri, K., Heisen, M., Bennison, C., Wirtz, H. S., & Di Tanna, G. L.

(2020). A systematic review of medical costs associated with heart failure in the USA (2014–2020). Pharmacoeconomics, 38(11), 1219-1236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-020-00952-0

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Select a particular chronic illness (Congestive heart failure). based on my population of interest or study. Research the costs involved with family caregiving associated with the chronic illness and discuss the economic impact of family caregiving on family resources over time.
Congestive heart failure also called CHF, Heart failure.