This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Baigi, A. Articles by Fridlund, B. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Baigi, A. Articles by Fridlund, B. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Sense of coherence as well as social support and network as perceived by patients with a suspected or manifest myocardial infarction: a short-term follow-up study

Department of Primary Health Care, Göteborg University, Göteborg and Research and Development, Primary Health Care, Halland

Cathrine Hildingh

Department of Primary Health Care, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Research and Development, Primary Health Care, Halland, School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Halmstad

Helen Virdhall

School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Halmstad and Heart & Lung Division, Lund University Hospital, Lund

Bengt Fridlund

Department of Primary Health Care, Göteborg University, Göteborg, School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Halmstad, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Växjö University, Växjö, Sweden, bengt.fridlund{at}vxu.se

Objective: To compare sense of coherence as well as social support and network as perceived by ischaemic heart disease patients at baseline and two weeks post-discharge in terms of age, sex, educational and marital status.

Design: Multicentre study with a prospective short-term follow-up design.

Setting: A university hospital, a central hospital and a district hospital in southern Sweden.

Subjects: Consecutive sample of 246 patients with a suspect or manifest myocardial infarction.

Main measures: The Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-R), the Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey and the Sense of Coherence Scale were included in a self-administered questionnaire and answered twice, together with sociodemographic variables.

Results: Bivariate analyses indicated changes in social support (practical support increased in men and decreased in women; both P= 0.003) and social network (family network increased among >65 year olds; P= 0.001, men; P= 0.013, and women; P= 0.033, those with a low; P=0.017, and intermediate; P= 0.033, educational level, as well as those cohabiting; P= 0.0001), but did not reveal any difference in sense of coherence.

Conclusions: Sociodemographic variables have no influence on sense of coherence but do affect social support (i.e. practical support and social network, family). Ischaemic heart disease patients' short stay in hospital implies that the network outside the hospital has to assume responsibility, but at the same time it is important for health care professionals to have sufficient knowledge to be able to support the specific needs of patients and their family members.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?