Illness perception in patients with coronary artery disease: A systematic review.
The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review that investigates the differences in illness perception with age and gender in patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease. Previous studies show some discrepancies regarding the influence of age and gender on the specific dimensions of coronary artery disease patients' illness perception. A systematic review using a narrative synthesis process included preliminary synthesis, exploration of relationships and assessment of the robustness of the synthesis and findings was conducted. Search terms were used to identify research studies published between 1996 and December 2014 across four key databases: CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO and Web of Science. A total of 14 studies met the inclusion criteria of the review. The review found that men had a stronger perception that their own behaviour had caused their illness than women. In addition, older patients had lower perceptions of the consequences and chronicity of their illness. This analysis concludes that some dimensions of illness perception vary according to age and gender of patients with coronary artery disease. These differences should be taken into consideration, particularly when providing health education and cardiac rehabilitation.
American University of Madaba, Amman, Jordan.
Ahmed Mohammad
AM
Al-Smadi
The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
Ala
A
Ashour
Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Issa
I
Hweidi
Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Besher
B
Gharaibeh
University of Ulster and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, UK.
Donna
D
Fitzsimons
D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D008297:Male
age; coronary artery disease; gender; perception of illness; systematic review