TY - JOUR
T1 - Cultural diversity in heart failure management
T2 - Findings from the DISCOVER study (part 2)
AU - Davidson, Patricia M.
AU - MacDonald, Peter
AU - Moser, Debra K.
AU - Ang, Esther
AU - Paull, Glenn
AU - Choucair, Sam
AU - Daly, John
AU - Gholizadeh, Leila
AU - Dracup, Kathleen
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the support of South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service Diversity Health Unit and National Health and Medical Research Council 219512 for the conduct of this study.
PY - 2007/5
Y1 - 2007/5
N2 - Self-management is a critical dimension in managing chronic conditions, particularly in heart failure (HF). Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, relating to both illness and wellness, are strongly influenced by culture and ethnicity, impacting upon an individual's capacity to engage in self-care behaviours. Effective management of HF is largely dependent on facilitation of culturally informed, self-care behaviours to increase adherence to both pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. The Understanding the cultural experiences of individuals with chronic heart failure (CHF) in South East Health (DISCOVER) study is an exploratory, observational study investigating health patterns, information needs and the adjustment process for overseas-born people with HF living in Australia. An integrative literature review was augmented by qualitative data derived from key informant interviews, focus groups and individual interviews. A key finding of this study is that culture provides an important context to aid interpretations of attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviours, not only in illness but in health. While individual differences in attitudes and beliefs were observed among participants, common themes and issues were identified across cultural groups. Data from the DISCOVER study revealed the primacy of family and kinship ties. These relationships were important in making decisions about treatment choices and care plans. Participants also revealed the critical role of the 'family doctor' in assisting people and their families in brokering the health care system. In this study, heart disease was considered to be a significant condition but cancer was the condition that people both feared and dreaded the most, despite the high mortality rates of HF. This sample reported that religious and traditional beliefs became more important as people aged and considered their mortality. As HF is predominately a condition of ageing, the information derived from this study will assist clinicians to tailor health care service delivery for older people with HF, across multiple ethnic backgrounds.
AB - Self-management is a critical dimension in managing chronic conditions, particularly in heart failure (HF). Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, relating to both illness and wellness, are strongly influenced by culture and ethnicity, impacting upon an individual's capacity to engage in self-care behaviours. Effective management of HF is largely dependent on facilitation of culturally informed, self-care behaviours to increase adherence to both pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. The Understanding the cultural experiences of individuals with chronic heart failure (CHF) in South East Health (DISCOVER) study is an exploratory, observational study investigating health patterns, information needs and the adjustment process for overseas-born people with HF living in Australia. An integrative literature review was augmented by qualitative data derived from key informant interviews, focus groups and individual interviews. A key finding of this study is that culture provides an important context to aid interpretations of attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviours, not only in illness but in health. While individual differences in attitudes and beliefs were observed among participants, common themes and issues were identified across cultural groups. Data from the DISCOVER study revealed the primacy of family and kinship ties. These relationships were important in making decisions about treatment choices and care plans. Participants also revealed the critical role of the 'family doctor' in assisting people and their families in brokering the health care system. In this study, heart disease was considered to be a significant condition but cancer was the condition that people both feared and dreaded the most, despite the high mortality rates of HF. This sample reported that religious and traditional beliefs became more important as people aged and considered their mortality. As HF is predominately a condition of ageing, the information derived from this study will assist clinicians to tailor health care service delivery for older people with HF, across multiple ethnic backgrounds.
KW - Cultural competence
KW - Cultural diversity
KW - DISCOVER study
KW - Health seeking behaviours
KW - Heart failure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34547595637&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34547595637&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5172/conu.2007.25.1-2.50
DO - 10.5172/conu.2007.25.1-2.50
M3 - Article
C2 - 17622989
AN - SCOPUS:34547595637
SN - 1037-6178
VL - 25
SP - 50
EP - 62
JO - Contemporary Nurse
JF - Contemporary Nurse
IS - 1-2
ER -