Background: A rapid improvement in the care of myocardial infarction (MI) in the emergency services has been witnessed in recent years. There is, however, a lack of understanding of the factors involved in a successful recovery process, after the initial stages of emergency care among patients, and in particular those who are women. Both preventive and promotive perspectives should be taken into consideration for facilitating the recovery process of women after a MI.

Aim: To explore how women’s recovery processes are promoted after a first MI.

Methods: A qualitative content analysis was used.

Findings: The women’s recovery process is a multidirectional process with a desire to develop and approach a new perspective on life. The women’s possibility to approach new perspectives on life incorporates how they handle the three dimensions: behaviour, that is, women’s acting and engaging in various activities; social, that is, how women receive and give support in their social environment; and psychological, that is, their way of thinking, reflecting, and appreciating life.

Conclusions: The personal recovery of women is a multidirectional process with a desire to develop and approach a new perspective on life. It is important for cardiac rehabilitation nurses to not only focus on lifestyle changes and social support but also on working actively with the women’s inner strength in order to promote the recovery of the women.

Introduction

Secondary prevention care after a Myocardial Infarction (MI) has not improved during the last 15 years at the same rate as acute MI care. One reason could be that research and health care focus more on treatment, symptoms and risk factors and not on the individuals’ perceptions of the recovery process after an MI. Most previous research focuses on recovery from the women’s and their partners’ point of view. Since cardiac rehabilitation nurses meet many women after MI, their experiences of the women’s recovery process may be an important complement perspective.

Purpose

The aim was to explore cardiac rehabilitation nurses’ experiences of factors influencing female patients’ recovery after their first MI.

Method

The study was conducted using qualitative content analysis. Twenty cardiac rehabilitation nurses were interviewed and the study was carried out at 10 hospitals in Sweden.

Conclusions

Cardiac rehabilitation nurses experienced that women’s recovery after an MI was influenced by factors that were both related to their own individual as well as by their surroundings factors. The underlying meaning of women´s recovery is characterized as the transition process to the recovery to health.

Background: In the developed part of the world, coro- nary heart disease is the major cause of death and is one of the leading causes of disease burden. In Swe- den, more than 30,000 people per year are affected by myocardial infarction and out of these approximately 40% are women. Nearly 70% of the women survive and after a myocardial infarction a recovery process follows. Today’s health care focuses more on treat- ment, symptoms and risk factors than on the indi- viduals’ perceptions of the recovery process. Aim: To explore cardiac rehabilitation nurses’ experiences of factors influencing female patients’ recovery after their first myocardial infarction. Methods: Twenty cardiac rehabilitation nurses were interviewed. The study was conducted using qualitative content analy- sis. Results: The cardiac rehabilitation nurses experi- enced that women’s recovery after a first myocardial infarction was influenced whether they had a suppor- tive context, their ability to cope with the stresses of life, if they wanted to be involved in their own per- sonal care and how they related to themselves. Con- clusions: Women’s recovery after a myocardial in- farction was influenced by factors related to sur- roundings as well as own individual factors. The un- derlying meaning of women’s recovery can be de- scribed as the transition process of a recovery to health. Our findings suggest that a focus on person- centered nursing would be beneficial in order to promote the every woman’s personal and unique re- covery after a myocardial infarction. Finally, the car- diac rehabilitation nurses’ experiences of factors influencing male patients’ recovery after their first myo- cardial infarction should be important to investigate. 

Introduction

Secondary prevention care after a Myocardial Infarction (MI) has not improved during the last 15 years at the same rate as acute MI care. One reason could be that research and health care focus more on treatment, symptoms and risk factors and not on the individuals’ perceptions of the recovery process after an MI. Most previous research focuses on recovery from the women’s and their partners’ point of view. Since cardiac rehabilitation nurses meet many women after MI, their experiences of the women’s recovery process may be an important complement perspective.

Purpose

The aim was to explore cardiac rehabilitation nurses’ experiences of factors influencing female patients’ recovery after their first MI.

Method

The study was conducted using qualitative content analysis. Twenty cardiac rehabilitation nurses were interviewed and the study was carried out at 10 hospitals in Sweden.

Conclusions

Cardiac rehabilitation nurses experienced that women’s recovery after an MI was influenced by factors that were both related to their own individual as well as by their surroundings factors. The underlying meaning of women´s recovery is characterized as the transition process to the recovery to health.

BACKGROUND: As part of preparation for a Swedish multicentre study, exploring sexual and married life in patients with myocardial infarction and their partners, a Swedish validated instrument was required.

AIMS: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a Swedish version of the Watts Sexual Function Questionnaire (WSFQ) among persons with a heart disease.

METHODS: A convenience sample of 79 persons (47 men and 32 women) living with a heart disease was recruited from the members of the National Association of Heart and Lung Patients. They completed a Swedish version of the WSFQ on two occasions.

RESULTS: Two separate factor analyses each revealed a two-factor structure on both occasions: "Sexual appetite" and "Sexual expectations" with gender-neutral questions and "Sexual sensitiveness" and "Sexual ability" with gender-specific questions. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.48 to 0.86 and test-retest values for all but one question exceeded 0.70.

CONCLUSIONS: The Swedish version of the WSFQ showed good validity and stability and acceptable internal homogeneity. Extended evaluations of the questionnaire are recommended.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for a short and easily administered scale, in the Swedish language, for assessing partner relationships in the health care of persons with cardiac disease. PURPOSE: To establish the reliability and validity of the Swedish version of the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS). DESIGN: The present pilot study has a methodological design. FINDINGS: Content validity has been tested for relevance, clarity and readability. The scale was tested for construct validity with explorative factor analysis. The reliability was tested by internal consistency and test-retest analysis. The result showed a two-factor solution, which does not correspond to the original proposed one-factor solution. The factor analyses revealed two quite distinct factors of RAS, labelled "Relationship built on expectations and satisfaction of needs" and "Relationship built on love and devotion". CONCLUSIONS: The scale has satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of content validity, construct validity, homogeneity and stability in a population of persons with cardiac disease. Wider evaluations of the RAS for other populations and settings are recommended.

Background: Knowledge about women's recovery following a myocardial infarction (MI) with focus on how their social support and network change over time as a result of participation in a cardiac rehabilitation programme (CRP) is not well established. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe and compare social support and network changes over a 4-year period in women with a first MI, based on socio-demographic and situational data. Method: A longitudinal, comparative study with a non-randomised design including pre- and post-tests (1 and 4 years after MI) was carried out in 18 hospitals in Sweden. Consecutively chosen women (N = 240) answered a questionnaire on the subject of social support and network. Results: The women who participated in a CRP were mainly dependent upon professional support during the first year after MI (p < 0.0001), while those who declined to participate in a CRP needed professional support throughout the whole 4-year period (p = 0.001). Participation in CRP was dependent on the women's age, those under 60 years (p = 0.050). Conclusion: There is a need to develop CRPs that are specifically designed for women based ontheir age and family relationships. Nurses' training programmes should place greater emphasis on cardiac rehabilitation from the perspective of women with focus on professional support. © 2005 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The general aim of this licentiate thesis was to describe and compare, from a longitudinal perspective, the extent of cardiac rehabilitation efforts as well as changes in social support and social network in women who have suffered their first myocardial infarction (MI). The studies had a descriptive, comparative and longitudinal design. Data were collected from healthcare professionals at 18 acute hospitals, who on two occasions answered a questionnaire dealing with cardiac rehabilitation efforts. From these 18 hospitals, 240 women who had suffered a first MI were consecutively chosen to answer a questionnaire on three occasions on the subject of social support and social network. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data over time. The result showed that patients with different ischaemic heart disease diagnoses and their next-of-kin were offered different cardiac rehabilitation programmes (CRPs). None of the hospitals offered a CRP that was specifically designed for women. The women experienced that the extent of general support, support from relatives, and professional support changed positively over time. The women who participated in a CRP reported less need for professional support over time compared to non participants. This licentiate thesis provides knowledge about social support and social network that can be used to develop CROPs based on the special needs of women with MI and their relatives.

Today’s cardiac rehabilitation programmes are multiphase and interdisciplinary. The aim of the study was to compare different cardiac rehabilitation approaches available to patients with ischaemic heart disease and their next-of-kin during a 5-year period in five counties in Western Sweden. Questionnaires were answered on two occasions, in 1993 and 1998, dealing with the cardiac rehabilitation organization, the target groups invited, rehabilitation efforts, and the health-care professionals involved in the cardiac rehabilitation. The results show that patients with myocardial infarction and their next-of-kin were offered a well-functioning cardiac rehabilitation, both in 1993 and in 1998, at the university, county and district county hospitals. For patients who had undergone bypass surgery and their next-of-kin, cardiac rehabilitation was only available to a lesser extent. Patients with angina pectoris and their next-of-kin had the least possibility of receiving cardiac rehabilitation during the 5-year period. No cardiac rehabilitation programmes were specially designed for women, and an age limit existed in some cases. The most developed cardiac rehabilitation effort was the stress management education. The health-care professionals most frequently included in the cardiac rehabilitation teams at the university and district hospitals were dieticians, cardiologists, physiotherapists and nurses, both in 1993 and in 1998. The corresponding health-care professionals at the county hospitals were cardiologists, social workers, clergymen, physiotherapists and nurses. A research implication can be to identify who the next-of-kin are, what their experiences are of participating in a cardiac rehabilitation programme and how important they are to these patients.

The ambulance service should offer good care signified by humane and individual treatment of the patients, based on love to our fellow man. The aim of this study was to find out how loving care was practised in one ambulance service. The method for the study was the critical incident technique. Twelve paramedics, the majority of whom are qualified nurses, took part in the study; they were asked to describe, in writing, critical incidents in which they had acted with loving care. The paramedics’ writings disclosed their ability to do their job with loving care, bearing on their cognizance, solicitude and empathy. On the whole, subject cognizance, the ability to judge and treat based upon the monitored symptoms of the patients, was apparent. In the main, subject solicitude loving care was shown through humbleness, consideration, closeness and being in rapport, and generally subject empathy, the paramedic’s empathic capacity and his knowledge about man’s behaviour in a crisis, became evident. From a clinical standpoint the study shows the importance of the paramedics possessing professional skill. As a contribution to science the study adds to continued research based upon descriptions made by other groups of personnel about the phenomenon to be studied; namely, loving care. © 1995 Pearson Professional Ltd.