Document Detail


Spouses' experiences of a cardiac arrest at home: an interview study.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20071240     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
INTRODUCTION: In case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) influence of a bystander spouse is decisive for the chance of survival.
AIM: To describe spouses' experiences of witnessing their partners' cardiac arrest at home, focusing on the time before the event and when it happened.
METHODS: Interviews with fifteen spouses were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was conducted.
RESULTS: In the domain entitled "Time before cardiac arrest", four themes emerged in the analysis process: "Lack of early warning signs", "Difficulty interpreting early warning signs", "Interpreting signs in the light of previous illness" and "Denial of serious illness". In the domain entitled "The cardiac arrest event", three themes emerged: "Perceiving the seriousness", "Being unable to influence" and "Doing what is in one's power". The emergency call services' (ECS) ability to instruct and help the spouses to do what they can becomes evident in these themes.
CONCLUSION: Spouses who experienced OHCA demonstrated a lack of confidence in or ability to interpret early warning signs and symptoms. This lack of confidence also extended to the process of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The support from the ECS and CPR training was acknowledged as helpful and important. Further research is required to determine which interventions can improve people's ability to intervene as early as possible.
Authors:
Thorén Ann-Britt; Danielson Ella; Herlitz Johan; Axelsson B Asa
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-01-13
Journal Detail:
Title:  European journal of cardiovascular nursing : journal of the Working Group on Cardiovascular Nursing of the European Society of Cardiology     Volume:  9     ISSN:  1873-1953     ISO Abbreviation:  Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs     Publication Date:  2010 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-08-09     Completed Date:  2010-12-16     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101128793     Medline TA:  Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  161-7     Citation Subset:  IM; N    
Copyright Information:
(c) 2009 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Centre for Acute & Critical Care (CACC), School of Health Sciences & Social Work, Växjö University, Sweden. ann-britt.thoren@vxu.se
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* / utilization
Decision Making
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest / diagnosis*,  therapy
Qualitative Research
Spouses

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