title: The Cultural Meaning of Cardiac Illness and Self-Care Among Lebanese Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.
abstract: Cardiac disease is the leading cause of death in Lebanon, accounting for 22% to 26% of total deaths in the country. A thorough understanding of perceptions of cardiac illness and related self-care management is critical to the development of secondary prevention programs that are specific to the Lebanese culture.
  
  
  
  To explore the cultural perceptions of cardiac illness and the associated meaning of self-care among Lebanese patients.
  
  
  
  Using a qualitative descriptive method, semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 Lebanese cardiac patients recruited from a medical center in Beirut, Lebanon.
  
  
  
  The qualitative descriptive analysis yielded one overarching and two other themes describing perceptions of cardiac illness and self-care within the Lebanese cultural context. The overarching cultural theme was, "Lebanese cardiac patients were unfamiliar with the term concept and meaning of self-care." Lebanese cardiac patients thanked God and accepted their fate (Theme I). The participants considered their cardiac incident a life or death warning (Theme II).
  
  
  
  Health care providers need to consider patients' cultural perception of illness while planning and evaluating cardiac self-care programs.
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon ny00@aub.edu.lb.
authors.forename: Nuhad Yazbik
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Dumit
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Denver College of Nursing, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Joan Kathy
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Magilvy
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Denver College of Nursing, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Rima
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Afifi
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D029181:Spirituality
keywords: cardiac illness perception; cardiac self-care; collective self-care; self-care cultural meaning; self-care perception