School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
Soc Work Health Care. 2012;51(2):149-72. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2011.599016.
This study addresses the need for more information about how urban African-American elders experience advanced heart failure. Participants included 35 African Americans aged 60 and over with advanced heart failure, identified through records from a community hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Four focus groups (n = 13) and 22 individual interviews were conducted. We used thematic analysis to examine qualitative focus groups and interviews. Themes identified included life disruption, which encompassed the sub-themes of living scared, making sense of heart failure, and limiting activities. Resuming life was a contrasting theme involving culturally relevant coping strategies, and included the sub-themes of resiliency, spirituality, and self-care that helped patients regain and maintain a sense of self amid serious illness. Participants faced numerous challenges and invoked a variety of strategies to cope with their illness, and their stories of struggles, hardship, and resilience can serve as a model for others struggling with advanced illness.
本研究旨在探讨更多关于城市非裔美国老年人如何经历晚期心力衰竭的信息。参与者包括密歇根州底特律市一家社区医院的记录中确定的 35 名年龄在 60 岁及以上的非裔美国人，他们患有晚期心力衰竭。进行了 4 个焦点小组（n=13）和 22 次单独访谈。我们使用主题分析来检查定性焦点小组和访谈。确定的主题包括生活中断，其中包括生活恐惧、理解心力衰竭和限制活动等子主题。恢复生活是一个对比主题，涉及到文化相关的应对策略，包括韧性、灵性和自我护理等子主题，这些策略帮助患者在严重疾病中重新获得和保持自我意识。参与者面临着许多挑战，并采取了各种策略来应对他们的疾病，他们的挣扎、困难和韧性的故事可以作为其他与晚期疾病作斗争的人的榜样。
