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Psychosocial experiences in the context of life-threatening illness: The cardiac rehabilitation patient

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2014

Gerard N. Holder ,
William C. Young ,
Sheeba R. Nadarajah  and
Ann M. Berger
Gerard N. Holder
Affiliation:
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
William C. Young
Affiliation:
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
Sheeba R. Nadarajah
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Bowie State University, Bowie, Maryland
Ann M. Berger*
Affiliation:
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Ann M. Berger, Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 10 Center Drive, Building 10, Room 2-1733, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. E-mail: aberger@cc.nih.gov
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Abstract

Objective:

One of the most prevalent life-threatening illnesses is heart disease. The initial trauma of being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or having a cardiac event can begin a psychosocial chain reaction that results in a transformation of the lives of these patients. The goal of our study was to investigate the lived experiences of psychosocial healing in rehabilitation of cardiac patients using a qualitative written interview.

Method:

A purposive sample of 14 cardiac event survivors was recruited. Participants were interviewed after informed consent and screening. We used a qualitative analysis and model-revision approach similar to the procedure outlined by Charmaz (2006).

Results:

Participants consistently mentioned that a heightened awareness of mortality was a motivating factor that led to participants focusing more on their family and relationships, having an enhanced outlook on life, and making healthy lifestyle changes.

Significance of results:

If clinicians are able to employ a measure to better understand the nature of a patient's progression from cardiac event to successful recovery, interventions such as cardiac rehabilitation can be implemented earlier and more effectively during the course of the illness and recovery phases of treatment. Theoretically, this early detection of a patient's progression could reduce the time spent recovering from a cardiac event, and it would allow treatments for these conditions to better alleviate the psychosocial concerns faced by patients.

Keywords

MortalityLife-threatening illnessCardiac illnessQualitative research
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 749 - 756
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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