Being Uncertain: Rural Living Cardiac Patients' Experience of Accessing Healthcare
Date
2020-01-06
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Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and secondary prevention strategies such as physical activity, diet and weight management, stress management, emotional health, and education are necessary to reduce disease progression to heart failure. Although cardiac rehabilitation has also been demonstrated to improve quality of life and well-being, services tend to be underutilized worldwide, particularly in rural populations. Thus, Straussian Grounded Theory was used to seek a deeper understanding of the process that rural cardiac patients go through to access healthcare and cardiac rehabilitation following myocardial infarction. In-depth interviews with eleven participants were untaken resulting in emergence of several themes. Qualitative themes that emerged included comfort with health information, relationship with healthcare providers, social support, taking ownership, and availability of/for cardiac rehabilitation. These events occurred throughout a linear timeline progressing from hospital discharge to maintaining health. The core category of ‘being uncertain’ refers to the process rural cardiac participants will go through while accessing care after their myocardial infarction. Gaining an understanding of the process rural patient go through to access care after their myocardial infarction will assist in identifying ways to improve access and address uncertainty stemming from a lack of perceived information at and post-discharge.
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Keywords
rural health, myocardial infarction, cardiac rehabilitation, aftercare, qualitative research, grounded theory
Citation
Lowe, E. (2020). Being Uncertain: Rural Living Cardiac Patients' Experience of Accessing Healthcare (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.