Appraisal and illness delay with symptoms of ACS: A questionnaire study of illness representations

Citation

Farquharson B, Johnston M & Bugge C (2012) Appraisal and illness delay with symptoms of ACS: A questionnaire study of illness representations. British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, 7 (10), pp. 493-499. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjca.2012.7.10.493

Abstract
Background: Reducing patient delay is key to reducing mortality in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Interventions to date have had little success. Aim: To explore whether illness representations (Leventhal's Commonsense Model of Self-Regulation (CS-SRM)) are associated with patient delay (appraisal or illness delay) in those with symptoms of ACS. Design: A CS-SRM questionnaire study. Methods: A random sample of 182 patients who contacted NHS 24 with symptoms of ACS completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire and gave access to data from their NHS 24 records. Results: Median appraisal delay was 2 hours. Median illness delay was 75 minutes. Women were more likely than men to have long appraisal delays (greater than 2 hours) (57% vs 43%, c2(df=1)=3.93, P=0.047) but did not differ regarding illness delay. Gender and illness representations (identity, emotion and consequences) predicted appraisal delay category (c2=19.907, df=4, P=0.001). Conclusions: Appraisal and illness delays may be associated with different factors. Interventions addressing illness representations might reduce appraisal delay, especially in women.

Keywords
; Health attitudes;Medicine and psychology;Sick Psychology

Journal
British Journal of Cardiac Nursing: Volume 7, Issue 10