Examining Health-Related Decision Making Patterns of African-Americans with Coronary Heart Disease: A Phenomenological Study

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Tiffany A. Love, RN
CWRU Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to describe the incidence and prevalence of coronary heart disease in the United States.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to explain the Hermeneutic Phenomenological research method.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that affect the day-to-day health-related decision making patterns of African Americans managing coronary heart disease (CHD). There has been a dramatic increase in the number of African Americans living with CHD. With advancement in technology mortality rates of CHD have decreased but the likelihood of African Americans living with CHD and disability has increased (Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, 2007). African Americans have been disproportionately affected by CHD when compared to their White counterparts (Healthy People, 2007). Understanding the lived experience of African Americans living with CHD is important for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, education, and treatment. The hermeneutic phenomenological approach will explore the participant's perceptions and experiences of managing CHD and its affect on their day-to-day health-related decision making patterns. Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological research method has been chosen to examine the factors that affect the day-to-day health-related decision-making patterns of older African Americans as they manage CHD. The researcher will conduct two in-depth interviews designed to elicit candid responses regarding the experience of living with CHD. Two interviews separated by several days to allow the participant time to reflect on the topic at hand between interviews. The interviews will be conducted in a natural setting of the participant's choice. Open-ended in-depth interviews will last between sixty to ninety minutes. Results: ongoing research project.

Conclusion: Pending