title: Barriers to health information seeking in Iranian patients with cardiovascular disease: a qualitative study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Providing patients with health care information is a critical component of the process of cardiovascular disease (CVD) management. The purpose of this study was to explore obstacles to seeking health care information among cardiovascular patients from the perspectives of patients, their family caregivers, and health care providers.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted with a qualitative approach using conventional qualitative content analysis. The study included 31 Iranian participants including 16 cardiovascular patients, 5 family members, and 10 health care providers (multidisciplinary). Data were collected with semi-structured interviews and continued to the point of data saturation. Analysis of the data was performed continually and concurrently with data collection of using a comparative method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five themes emerged including 'poor quality of information provision,' 'mutual ambiguity,' 'beliefs, faith, and expectations,' 'from routine life to obtaining information,' and 'conditions governing information seekers.' Seven sub-themes indicated participants' experiences and understandings of obstacles in health care information seeking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health care information seeking in cardiovascular patients and their family members occurs as a result of the influence of beliefs, interaction with numerous information sources, and in the context and structure that the care and information are provided. Understanding the nature of obstacles to health information seeking will help health care policy makers to provide evidence-based, reliable, and patient-centered information to encourage cardiovascular patients' involvement in treatment decisions.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gholami
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: msflir@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fallahi Khoshknab
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sadat Seyed Bagher
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Maddah
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-331, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fazlollah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahmadi
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khankeh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: Barriers; Cardiovascular disease; Health information seeking