title: Explanatory models of heart failure etiology.
abstract: Chronic health failure is a leading cause of hospital readmissions and is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. Explanatory models of illness can provide insight about how people with heart failure perceive their etiology of heart failure. Six themes were found in this descriptive, qualitative study to explore the perceived origin of heart failure in 50 participants. Forty percent of the people were unaware of why they had the diagnosis. Misconceptions and misinformation were common, including confusion about whether the symptoms themselves caused the disease.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin, TX 78701, USA. apclark@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Angela P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Graham J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: McDougall
authors.forename: Glenda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Joiner-Rogers
authors.forename: Sheri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Innerarity
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delville
authors.forename: Marty
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meraviglia
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davila
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors