Abstract
Purpose: (1) The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between social independence and psychological profiles in adult congenital heart disease patients with physically disabled patients certificate and (2) to identify patients' difficulty, anxiety, and demands regarding social life.
Method: A total of 143 patients with physically disabled patients certificates older than 15 years of age were selected for this study from data obtained by a questionnaire survey conducted by the patients association. In the questionnaire, each participant was asked about employment status, income, receipt status of disability pension as an index of social independence, and financial and psychological distress as an index of psychological status. Furthermore, each participant was asked to freely describe any difficulty, anxiety, and demands with regard to social life.
Result: The ages of the subjects ranged from 15-73 years. Of the total, 71 patients (50%) were females, and 94 patients (66%) possessed the first grade physically disabled person's certificate. Fifty-nine patients (41%) were employed, and of the employed, the annual income of 34 patients (58%) was lower than two million Japanese yen per year. The frequency of hospital visits, low total household income, low individual income of the patient, dissatisfaction toward work, and receipt of the disability pension were related to the psychological profiles. In the free descriptions, the participants desired better pension systems, support for medical fees, and employment support systems.
Conclusion: Financial issues can affect the patient's psychological profiles. It is a pressing need to enhance the social welfare and employment support systems.
