DenHeart - Self-reported Health and Quality of Life at Hospital Discharge From a Heart Centre in Denmark

The objective of this study is to describe: 1) Differences in perceived health at hospital discharge between diagnostic groups and in-hospital predicting factors. 2) Perceived health at hospital discharge as a predictor of morbidity and mortality after 1 and 3 years. 3) The association between perceived health, sick leave and health care utilization.

The five heart centres in Denmark diagnose and treat about 50.000 patients with different diagnoses every year and offer both invasive and non-invasive treatment.

Perceived health status is measured by self-reported health, quality of life, anxiety and depression and symptoms. Knowledge about perceived health status can help to guide inpatient practise and outpatient follow-up. Furthermore, it can be used to evaluate differences between diagnostic groups, regional differences and predicting factors for perceived health status at hospital discharge and long term morbidity and mortality. Also economic analysis of healthcare utilisation and work ability status are possible.

Five Danish heart centres (Rigshospitalet, Gentofte Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital and Aalborg University Hospital) are all including patients from April 2013 to April 2014. All patients discharged or transferred from one of the heart centres are potential participants in the study. Patients are unselected and consecutively included at hospital discharge. Included patients will be asked to complete and return a questionnaire before they leave the hospital.

The following questionnaires will be used to measure the perceived health status of the patients at hospital discharge: SF-12, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, EQ-5D, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, HeartQoL and Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. Furthermore 14 ancillary about health and health behaviour are included in the questionnaire. This amounts to a total of 62 items in the questionnaire.

The DenHeart study data collection, database development and reporting of primary outcomes are funded by the five participating heart centres in Denmark. Further funding for registry data, analyses and reporting will be applied for in external funds.