DEPRESSION AND DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

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Abstract

Description (adapted from investigator's abstract): In this application for a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award, Carolyn L. Turvey will obtain expertise in the relation between physical disability and depression in late-life. Dr. Turvey will study the relationship between physical disability and depression in elder patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Heart failure is a major source of disability in the elderly because patients experience fatigue and breathlessness when performing even minor activities of daily living. Accordingly, there are high rates of depression in heart failure patients, ranging from 17-26 percent. Disability is strongly associated with depression for this group. Dr. Turvey aims to identify how patients with CHF can cope successfully with their illness and with physical disability. She will compare CHF patients with and without depression on their level of disability, how they cope with the illness and disability, and the degree and quality of social support they receive. She will then determine which of these factors predicts time to remission of a depressive episode. She will use the information gathered in this study to develop interventions designed to reduce depression in CHF patients. She will develop a brief intervention that teaches CHF patients cognitive and behavioral skills for coping with their illness and the most effective ways of engaging social support. Dr. Turvey proposes a training and research program making use of the diverse resources at the University of Iowa - the Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Epidemiology and the Aging Studies Program. Dr. Turvey seeks training in gerontology and the design and implementation of outcomes research. As part of this training, she has arranged visits to other sites that specialize in the treatment of late-life depression and the relation between depression and disability in the elderly. Her long-term career goal is to develop interventions that promote healthy aging amongst elders faced with functional decline.