title: Go to the hospital or stay at home? A qualitative study of expected hospital decision making among older African Americans with advanced heart failure.
abstract: To address the need for more information concerning hospital decision making, we conducted in-depth interviews among African Americans with heart failure and their family caregivers (n = 11 dyads). Using a case scenario, we asked participants about their anticipated hospitalization decisions. Most patients indicated that they would seek care to avoid further deterioration or death from their worsening condition. Many family caregivers anticipated having an active influence on hospitalization decisions. Findings suggest that social workers should encourage the development of adequate home-based services, recognize diverse communication styles, and use this information to facilitate medical decision making by these patients and their caregivers.
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , Wayne State University , Detroit , Michigan , USA.
authors.forename: Faith Pratt
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Hopp
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marsack
authors.forename: Jessica K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054521:Cultural Competency; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006699:Home Care Services; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012947:Social Work / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires