'I feel a fraud': men and their experiences of acute admission following chest pain.
The meaning of acute chest pain to men and how their masculinity affects the way that men respond to the care provided have received little attention in nursing research or nursing literature. The data for this paper were collected through participant observation whilst clinically working with men who had been admitted with acute chest pain. This paper will present a key theme that emerged from this study, relating to the dissonance that the men experienced when the initial pain that brought them to the hospital was quickly removed leaving them no longer feeling 'ill'. This paper will also argue that there is a need to consider the theories on masculinity to help in interpreting the reactions of the male patient to their condition and also to help direct the care that is being provided.
White
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School of Health & Community Care, Leeds Metropolitan University.
D000208:Acute Disease; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D003422:Critical Care / Q000523:psychology; D005783:Gender Identity; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008571:Men / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D012803:Sick Role