Biopsychosocial predictors of coping strategies of patients postmyocardial infarction.
Heesook Son, Erika Friedmann, Sue A Thomas and 1 others
PMID 27492735WHAT IT FOUND
After heart attack, patients with less available support and less satisfaction with support had lower coping scores.
Nurses assessing patients before discharge should ask about the size and quality of the support network, not just whether someone lives with a spouse.
Key findings
01After biological, demographic, psychological and social variables were all included, only social support predicted total coping; lower amount and lower satisfaction with support were associated with lower coping scores.
02Patients who were more anxious and depressed used reframing less often and passive coping more often.
03Patients with less available support, less satisfaction with support, or less education used passive coping more often.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis used baseline cross-sectional data, so it cannot show that social support, anxiety, depression or education caused better or worse coping. All patients lived with a spouse or companion, and the parent study required supportive partners willing to take training, so socially isolated patients were excluded. Most patients had mild heart failure (97.2%, NYHA class I or II), so findings may not apply to more severe or unstable cardiac disease. Coping, anxiety, depression and social support were self-reported, so responses may be biased or inaccurate. The sample had limited diversity: women were 14.8% of participants, and most patients were white men who had completed secondary school. The final model had low explanatory power, so many factors related to coping were not measured.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurses should provide social support to improve coping. The study only showed associations at one time point; it did not test an intervention or show that changing support changes coping.