Abstract
Background
Delay in seeking timely medical care by patients with acute coronary syndrome and
stroke has been well established in the literature, but less is known about delay
in care-seeking behavior by patients with heart failure (HF). The purpose of this
narrative review was to synthesize the literature regarding non–symptom-related factors
that contribute to delay in seeking medical care for HF symptoms.
Methods and Results
A literature search of Scopus, Medline, and Pubmed was conducted for published articles
from database inception to July 2009. Available evidence has shown that non–symptom-related
factors, such as HF severity, HF history, age, and ethnocultural background, were
related to delay in certain studies; however, null results have also been reported.
Other non–symptom-related factors, such as male gender, initial contact with a primary
care physician, arriving in the emergency department by means other than ambulance,
and patient responses such as self-care, low anxiety, and hopelessness, may play a
role in longer delay.
Conclusions
Although this review identified several non–symptom-related factors that may be implicated
in care-seeking delay, health care professionals should be vigilant in identifying
all high-risk individuals and educating them about warning signs of HF. Moreover,
access to outpatient chronic disease management programs that may have potential to
reduce care-seeking delay behavior should be explored.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 17, 2011
Accepted:
May 5,
2011
Received in revised form:
May 3,
2011
Received:
June 21,
2010
Footnotes
Funding: S.G. is supported by an Ontario Women’s Health Council/Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Gender and Health doctoral research award. S.L.G. is supported by a CIHR New Investigator Award (no. MSH-80489).
See page 786 for disclosure information.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
