Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Men's Health Issues
The Meaning and Caregiving Practices of Women Living with Men in the Community with CHD
Patricia Bradley, MEd, RN, Nursing, Grossmont College & University of San Diego, El Cajon, CA, USA
Learning Objective #1: describe the meaning of CHD on women living with men with coronary heart disease
Learning Objective #2: describe the caregiving practices that women who live with men with coronary heart disase perform
Purpose: Patients return home to their partners after fewer and fewer hospital days for medically or surgically treated coronary heart disease (Stewart, Davidson, Meade, Hirth, & Makrides, 2001) and only one-third of the patients attend formalized cardiac rehabilitation programs (American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, 2004). The suddenness of coronary heart disease (CHD), the demands of a distressed patient, and the fear of recurrence, disability or death creates immediate changes in the patient, the well partner, and the relationship. Within the home, women assume the role of informal caregivers for their male partners with CHD, a chronic illness. The purpose of the study was to describe female partners’ meaning of the caregiving experience and to reveal the caregiving practices. Rationale: Over 30 years of research on the impact of CHD on the wives of men with CHD indicates that the women experience emotional distress. However, few research studies provide the context of that caregiving experience or describe the caregiving practices. Methods: This study used hermeneutic phenomenology. Individual face-to-face unstructured interviews were done on a convenience sample of 10 women. Analysis/Results: Interview data were audio-recorded and transcribed. The process of data analysis and interpretation used the method described by van Manen (1990). Through phenomenological reflection essential themes of the phenomenon were uncovered. Initial data analysis revealed themes of caring and connection in a ruptured world. Implications: Uncovering the meaning and context of caregiving practices for the women in this study leads to a better understanding of that experience so that nurses can better assist women with anticipatory guidance and therapeutic support.

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