The effect of a telephone counseling intervention, providing education and support and specifically designed to promote adjustment in women was trialed on 196 women admitted for myocardial infarction (MI) (19%), coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) (55%), coronary angioplasty (PTCA) (9%) or stable angina (17%). Women were randomized to usual care (n = 103) or the intervention (n = 93) delivered during admission and 1, 2, 3 and 6 weeks postdischarge. The sample had a mean age of 67 years (range 34 -92), had not completed high school (92%), and were not employed (84%).At 12 weeks the intervention had no effect, with no significant differences between group mean scores on psychosocial adjustment (F[1,182] During admission women at risk of poor outcomes should be targeted i.e., women aged less than 55 years, unemployed or retired, poorly adjusted to their cardiac illness, or readmitted to hospital within 12 weeks of a previous cardiac admission. An effective intervention for women, which can cater for a wide range of ages, multiple role demands, readmissions and stress at home, remains to be established.
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Effects of a Telephone Counseling Intervention on Psychosocial Function inWomen Following a Cardiac Event.Patient participation in postdischarge interventions including education and support, particularly when conducted with cardiac rehabilitation programs, have been demonstrated to improve psychosocial wellbeing following a cardiac event. 1-3 However, the relative benefit of these interventions for women has not been determined, as most interventions have been designed and tested on men. When women have been recruited, low participation rates have limited gender subgroup analyses . 1,4-6 Furthermore, men and women are likely to respond differently to the same intervention due to gender based differences in psychosocial recovery patterns. 7 Most of these differences arise from women's older age when first diagnosed with coronary heart disease and women's identification with traditional, gender-based roles. [8][9][10][11][12] Age-related factors such as increased incidence of comorbidities and fatigue, and multiple role commitments also limit women's ability to participate in cardiac rehabilitation and other outpatient based interventions. [13][14][15][16] Delivery of an education and support intervention, specifically designed for women and delivered by telephone, offers an inexpensive, convenient, alternative method of delivery. It is unclear what factors other than the intervention might influence psychosocial recovery in women. Therefore the purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine the effectiveness of a telephone follow-up intervention providing information and support in improving psychosocial adjustment in women following a cardiac event, and 2) to determine the predictors of psychosocial adjustment in women following a cardiac event.
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METHODSThe study was reviewed and approved by the appropriate hospital review boards.All participating patients were provided with information sheets and ...