title: Illness perception among Chinese patients with acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore illness perception (IP) and its predictors among Chinese patients with myocardial infarction (MI).
  
  
  METHODS
  The revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) was used in the present study. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was employed. The study was conducted in four major hospitals in Guangzhou (China) with a sample of 193 MI patients. Pearson's and Spearman's correlation, t test, one-way ANOVA, factor analysis and multiple linear regression were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 12 common symptoms of MI, on average only 3.37 were recognized by the subjects. Among the six factors of the cause dimension, "immune factors" received the highest score, followed by "gene and chance", "behavioral factors", "psychological factors", "environmental factors", and "physical factors". Subjects perceived MI as a chronic, cyclic illness with serious consequences that could be controlled through treatment, and believed that they had a negative affective response to MI. Furthermore, the dimensions of patients' IP were correlated, and illness-related factors and socio-demographic factors acted as predictors of IP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The IP of Chinese patients with MI needs to be improved.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on our findings, effective interventions can be designed to promote MI patients' IP to facilitate their coping strategies after an episode of MI.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Li-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Jian-Gui
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jing-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bai-Ling
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing-Jing
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jing-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shang-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010465:Perception; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires