Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

The Diabetes Educator

SAGETRACK

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Qualitative Health Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Turris, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Johnson, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Turris, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Johnson, J. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Maintaining Integrity: Women and Treatment Seeking for the Symptoms of Potential Cardiac Illness

Sheila A. Turris

British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Joy L. Johnson

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Cardiac disease is the number one killer of Canadian women. Therapy is highly time-dependent, yet treatment-seeking delay persists. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore how women seeking treatment for the symptoms of potential cardiac illness interpreted their symptoms, made decisions about seeking treatment, and understood experiences of care in the emergency department. Data were drawn from 100 hours of naturalistic observation, in-depth interviews with 16 women who visited one of two urban emergency departments between June 2005 and June 2006, and three interviews with nurses. The basic social psychological process of maintaining integrity was identified, encompassing three distinct phases: "resisting disruption," "suspending agency," and "integrating experiences and knowledge." The findings suggest that in the face of a threat to life, women are first and foremost striving to maintain both the integrity of their sense of self and their ability to carry out role responsibilities.

Key Words: emergency room • grounded theory • health care • health care • decision making • health care • users' experiences • heart health • illness and disease • experiences • illness and disease • responses • women's health

Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 18, No. 11, 1461-1476 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1049732308325824
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?