Need for Social Interaction

Over the years, 1 have found that those patients who rated their quality of life as high and were glad to be alive had happier family caregivers. In contrast, the patients with severe disability, who suffered extreme depression and no longer desired to live, had family caregivers who shared their depression. 

Family caregivers have often indicated that the most stressing period for using MV was from the time of commencement of TPPV through the following six months after their loved one became ventilator dependent. Thereafter, as family caregivers mastered ventilator care procedures, the anxiety and fear subsided. 

Male caregivers seemed to have been more creative in their approach to care and tended to invent devices that made life easier. Women tended to purchase commercial products to simplify tasks. 

The ability to anticipate and engage in pleasurable activities and to maintain an environment where family members live in harmony with one another are essential components for life satisfaction. Family caregivers and LTMV patients need to know they have a purpose for living (13), and must have a desire to live their lives to the fiiUest potential, despite their circumstances (14). 

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