Factors that lessen the burden of treatment in complex patients with chronic conditions: a qualitative study

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of interviewees (N=50)

	Mayo Clinic (n=32)	Hennepin County Medical Center (n=18)
Age, years
Median	59.5	50.5
Range	26 to 85	25 to 61
Sex
Female	20 (63%)	9 (50%)
Male	12 (38%)	9 (50%)
Race
White	31 (97%)	2 (11%)
African-American	1 (3%)	13 (72%)
Native American	0	2 (11%)
Mixed (African/Native American)	0	1 (6%)
Education
High school graduate or less	5 (16%)	12 (67%)
Some college/technical degree	11 (34%)	6 (33%)
College graduate	16 (50%)	0
Marital status
Married or living with partner	22 (69%)	4 (22%)
Not married	10 (31%)	14 (78%)
Employment status
Retired/unemployed	13 (41%)	5 (28%)
Full-time employed	10 (31%)	2 (11%)
Part-time employed	4 (13%)	2 (11%)
On disability or leave	4 (13%)	8 (44%)
Homemaker	1 (3%)	1 (6%)
Self-reported health conditions
Median	5	5
Range	1 to 16	3 to 8
Top ten most reported health conditions (n)	Gastrointestinal problems (15)	Hypertension (14)
	Hypertension (14)	Depression or anxiety (11)
	Arthritis/joint pain (13)	Arthritis/joint pain (8)
	Diabetes (12)	Back/neck problems (7)
	Cardiovascular disease (10)	Diabetes (7)
	Depression (10)	Asthma/COPD (7)
	Hyperlipidemia (8)	Obesity (6)
	Back/neck problems (8)	Drugs/alcohol/smoking (5)
	Eye problems (8)	Cardiovascular disease (3)
	Sleeping problems (7)	Other mental health, sleep disorders, chronic pain, or migraine headache (tied) (2)

Abbreviation: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Table 2 Resources for easing treatment burden by data collection method

Themes and subthemes	Interviews	Focus groups
Theme 1
Problem-focused strategies	×	×
Routinizing self-care	×	×
Enlisting support from others	×	×
Planning for the future	×	×
Using technology	×	×
Preserving autonomy/independence		×
Being proactive with providers		×
Theme 2
Emotion-focused coping	×	×
Maintaining positive attitude	×	×
Focusing on other life priorities	×	×
Spirituality and faith	×	×
Theme 3
Questioning the notion of burden	×	×
Adaptation/normalizing self-care	×	×
Social comparison with others	×	×
Theme 4
Receiving support from others	×	×
Informational	×	×
Instrumental	×	×
Emotional/companionship	×	×
Theme 5
Positive aspects of health care	×	×
Systemic aspects	×	×
Individual-provider aspects	×	×

Note: × indicates theme observed.