'I'm still here, that's probably the best part'. Lives of those living rurally with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator: a qualitative study

CONCLUSION: This is one of the few studies that has considered the influence of rural location on the post-ICD insertion experience of patients and their partners/carers. ICD insertion did not appear to substantially negatively impact on the lives or experiences of rural recipients and their partners/carers. While this study did not set out to explore the role of informal carers who live rurally, the study findings suggest that female partners of rural ICD recipients undertake a significant role in terms of shouldering varying responsibilities including medication management, emotional support and transportation. As the age of ICD recipients increases, so does the age of their partners, therefore, they are also likely to be living with one or more long term conditions. Health professionals need to be aware of this additional burden as research suggests rural informal caregivers are less likely to report associated issues.PMID:33751896 | DOI:10.22605/RRH5659
Source: Rural Remote Health - Category: Rural Health Authors: Source Type: research