Managing worry, stress and high blood pressure: African-American women holding it together through 'family'.
Strategies to manage worry, stress and high blood pressure (HBP) are little understood from the perspective of African Americans. Using data from a qualitative research study in south Louisiana, this article outlines how participants with HBP managed worry and stress through the formation of family. In an exploration of 314 conversations about 'family,' African-American women were cited by both women and men as mediators of worry, stress, and HBP. Participants did not necessarily define 'family' by blood or marriage relations, unlike the way in which 'family' is presented in most HBP research. 'Family' was often discussed in terms of how relationships with others were utilized to share knowledge about HBP, to address situations that produced HBP elevation, and to marshal resources to manage HBP.
Boutain
D M
DM
Seattle University School of Nursing, Seattle, Washington, USA. dboutain@seattleu.edu
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*