Lebanese cardiac patients understanding of their illness and the meaning of self-care

What is it about?

In order to support and promote self-care behavior among cardiac patients, we need to understand how they perceive their illness and what are their beliefs and attitudes about cardiac self-care, which is a relatively new concept among nurses in the non-western countries. Sometimes patient’s give meaning to concepts that are culturally grounded which may affect interventions aiming at promoting self-care and secondary prevention. Thus, understanding patients perceptions of their illness and their self-care will help tailor intervention to their understanding considering cultural influences of perceptions.

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Why is it important?

Healthcare providers plan and offer health promotion and secondary prevention interventions such as self-care management without considering patients perceptions, beliefs and cultural values. this may affect the success and effectiveness of the interventions. An example is when we consider self-care as an individual personal responsibility and we base patient teaching on this assumption. in some cultures, self-care management is a collective responsibility where the family plays a significant role in supporting patients achieve care outcomes. Accordingly, there is a need to understand the cultural perceptions and values of patients to integrate them in any intervention needed to improve their health.

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