Family Cardiac Caregiver Investigation to Evaluate Outcomes

The purpose of the FIT-O study was to estimate the prevalence of having a caregiver (paid and/or informal) among hospitalized cardiac patients by demographic factors such as patient age and race/ethnicity, and to link caregiver status to clinical outcomes following hospitalization. A secondary aim was to collect anonymous family tree data to provide an estimate of the number of first degree family members, their basic demographics, and the distance at which they live from the medical center.