title: Illness representation of patients with systolic heart failure.
abstract: Studies have shown that individuals influence their health outcomes, both positively and negatively, through their illness representation. To date, no studies describe the illness representation of persons with systolic heart failure, a significant contributor of morbidity and mortality in older adults. The purpose of this study was to describe illness representation in heart failure. Twenty-two subjects with New York Heart Association class II or III systolic heart failure were recruited at a university-based heart failure clinic. Illness representation was measured using the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire. The means on each of the 9 subscales were found to be significantly different from the neutral point of 3. The results suggest that participants believed that their heart failure was a chronic, cyclic disease with serious consequences that they could control through treatment. In addition, participants believed that they understood their heart failure and did not have a negative affective response to their heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Wright State University, Miami Valley College of Nursing & Health, Dayton, OH 45435, USA. candace.cherrington@wright.edu
authors.forename: Candace C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Cherrington
authors.forename: Thomas N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: Karen B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000339:Affect; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009341:Negativism; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012803:Sick Role; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013318:Stroke Volume; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013599:Systole; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000209:etiology