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Background: The delay time from onset of symptoms of a myocardial infarction to seeking medical assistance can have life-threatening consequences. Women delay significantly more often than men do in calling for medical help, once symptoms of a myocardial infarction occur. Objectives: The current qualitative study's main aim was to explore psychosocial factors that contribute to Israeli women's delaying calls for medical assistance and, by contrast, the motivational factors that encourage them to do so. Design: A qualitative study. Method: In total, 12 women were interviewed shortly after experiencing a myocardial infarction. Qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Two major themes emerged describing barriers to seeking help: (1) the use of denial as a defense mechanism and (2) the need for control. The motivational factor which enhanced help-seeking was "fear of death." Conclusion: These findings may help in designing gender-sensitive interventions with the aim of minimizing the symptom onset to call time and thus preventing irreversible and life-threatening health damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Early detection is critical in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). An at-risk population for cardiac disease--and conveniently approachable in terms of timing--is cardiac patients' offspring, at the moment when the parent is hospitalized for his or her own cardiac event. Based on the theoretical underpinning of life turning points, defined as perceived life course-changing events, we suggest that adult children would view the parent's cardiac event as a significant life turning point and that this understanding would motivate them to learn about CVD and to change their lifestyles accordingly. The current study's main goal was therefore to assess the baseline level and change over time in the adult offspring's knowledge of cardiac risk factors and cardiac health-promoting behaviors. Method: In a prospective design, 69 Israeli adult offspring of individuals newly diagnosed with an acute coronary event were approached and interviewed at 3 time points (on average 17 days, 55 days, and 125 days after the parent's hospitalization). Results: Contrary to our assumption, no significant change over time was detected among the adult children with regard to body mass index, physical activity, eating behaviors, or smoking. In fact, over time, they seemed to know less about CVD risk factors than they did originally. Conclusion: Adult children of cardiac patients seem to be reluctant to spontaneously engage in health-promoting behaviors. The option of approaching them, in a primary preventive act, as early as during a parent's hospitalization should be further investigated. Public Significance Statement The present study suggests that health providers should reach out for adult offspring of cardiac patients as early as during their parent' cardiac hospitalization in order to raise their awareness to their own cardiac risks and motivate them to engage in cardiac health promoting behaviors. Keywords: awareness, adult offspring, cardiovascular disease, health-promoting behaviors, primary prevention, Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide (World Health Organization, 2019). According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, CVD led to 13% of all of [...]

Objective: Cardiac disease induced post-traumatic stress symptoms (CDI-PTSS) have been associated with negative consequences for patients' mental and physical health. Identifying risk factors as well as potential buffers is necessary for understanding the development and maintenance of CDI-PTSS. The current study focused on the mediating and moderating role played by patients' perceptions of their partners' ways of providing support (active engagement, overprotection, and protective buffering) in the development and stabilization of CDI-PTSS levels over time. Method: Male patients (N = 106) were recruited at hospitalization (T1) and completed the study's questionnaires at two time points: approximately four months after hospital discharge (T2) and approximately eight months after discharge (T3). Results: Structual equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. All three forms of T2 perceived partner support were positively associated with T2 CDI-PTSS levels which, in turn, were positively associated with T3 CDI-PTSS levels. The linear association between T2 and T3 CDI-PTSS was positive but decreased as perceived partner protective buffering levels increased. Conclusions: In the context of CDI-PTSS, perceived partner support seems to have a different effect than it has in non-traumatic illness contexts. Interventions for couples coping with CDI-PTSS should be designed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the effect of observer's gender and target's gender on attitudes toward people who use wheelchairs due to a physical disability. Four hundred four Jewish Israeli students without disabilities completed the "Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities" (MAS). Initially, confirmatory factor analysis was used to revalidate the MAS. Five factors of attitudes were confirmed: distancing behaviors, positive cognitions, negative emotions, interpersonal stress, and calm. Findings showed that an encounter with a person using a wheelchair raised more positive cognitions and less distancing behaviors, but also evoked more negative emotions, than an encounter with a person without a disability. In the case of an encounter with a person without a disability, men contributed to greater interpersonal stress among women, whereas women contributed to greater interpersonal stress among men. The multidimensional approach revealed that the effect of gender was mostly salient with regard to interpersonal stress. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study presents the development of a new instrument, the "Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities" (MAS). Based on the multidimensional approach, it posits that attitudes are composed of three dimensions: affect, cognition, and behavior. The scale was distributed to a sample of 132 people along with a self-esteem measure and a frequently employed attitude scale, the "Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale" (ATDP). The construct and concurrent validity of the questionnaire was demonstrated by reliability and factor analyses, as well as by comparison with the ATDP scale. Principal component factor analysis revealed three correlated but distinct factors. Results show that women hold more positive behavioral attitudes than men. Interestingly, men with high self-esteem were found to hold more positive cognitions than men with low self-esteem. Results indicate the importance of a multidimensional approach both for the construction of sound instruments and for professional interventions aimed at modifying attitudes toward persons with disabilities.