This exploratory study was designed to elicit information about family reactions to the crisis of illness and what families perceive to be helpful during this crisis. The study focused on the family crisis of incorporating back into the family a father who had experienced his first myocardial infarction.
The study was conducted with a convenience sample of ten male myocardial infarction patients, their wives, and children living in the household. A semi-structured interview schedule was used with each family one to three weeks following the father's discharge from hospital. The interview data were summarized into categories and descriptive statistics were used.
All 10 families described changes that had occurred in the areas of family roles, interactions, affect and structure since the father had returned home from hospital. The amounts of help received by families varied a great deal and differences of opinion were expressed within some families. Friends and home care nurses were most frequently seen as persons offering the most help to families. Receiving information and reassurance were seen as helpful during this time. In summary, the results of the study indicate that families do experience a variety of changes when a family member is ill. The quantity and quality of change are related to the family's perception of the nature of the illness, the ill member's enactment of the sick role and the degree of difference between the family's pre-illness and post-illness state. Illness, especially life-threatening illness, fosters a review of individual and family goals which can also produce change.
It is also presumed that family reactions can have an effect on the course of illness. The effect is dependent upon family perceptions of the illness, the amount and kind of controls they can exercise, and the personal needs of individual family members.
More research is required to identify the characteristics and temporal aspects of family reactions to illness and family effects on illness. Innovative approaches to research design and methodology are required to ensure scientific theory development and continued appreciation of the complexity of family systems. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/21457 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Brown, Thelma M. |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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