Stories of the Heart: Illness Narratives of Veterans Living With Heart Failure.

Background: Illness narratives for veterans living with heart failure (HF) have been largely unexplored, yet HF is a significant and impactful illness affecting the lives of many veterans.

Methods: This study used narrative inquiry to explore the domains of psychosocial adjustments using the model of adjustment to illness, including self-schema, world schema, and meaning.

Results: Five illness narratives of veterans living with HF were cocreated and explored domains which were found across all the narratives explored in this study.

Self-Care Among Older Adults With Heart Failure.

It is estimated that 5.7 million Americans are living with heart failure (HF) today. Despite the fact that HF is one of the most common reasons people aged 65 years and older are admitted into the hospital, few studies describe the self-care in this older adult population.

Addressing Heart Failure Challenges through Illness-Informed Social Work.

This article describes the role of social workers in addressing the needs of people with heart failure. Although previous studies have explored the role of social workers in health care settings, few studies have addressed the challenges of specific chronic diseases such as heart failure. To address this gap in the literature, this study used qualitative interviews with health care social workers (n = 8) to obtain in-depth information about activities and challenges related to heart failure care.

Go to the hospital or stay at home? A qualitative study of expected hospital decision making among older African Americans with advanced heart failure.

To address the need for more information concerning hospital decision making, we conducted in-depth interviews among African Americans with heart failure and their family caregivers (n = 11 dyads). Using a case scenario, we asked participants about their anticipated hospitalization decisions. Most patients indicated that they would seek care to avoid further deterioration or death from their worsening condition.

Enhancing aging services through evidence-based health promotion: a training for service providers.

During the next several decades, increasing numbers of older Americans will suffer chronic illnesses and many will face challenges due to growing racial and economic health disparities. Agencies serving older adults need to respond by creating and promoting evidence-based health promotion (EBHP) practices to address the growing diversity among older adults in urban areas. One such agency, the Detroit Area Agency on Aging recently partnered with the Wayne State University School of Social Work to conduct an EBHP educational program for service providers.

Life disruption, life continuation: contrasting themes in the lives of African-American elders with advanced heart failure.

This study addresses the need for more information about how urban African-American elders experience advanced heart failure. Participants included 35 African Americans aged 60 and over with advanced heart failure, identified through records from a community hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Four focus groups (n = 13) and 22 individual interviews were conducted.

The lived experience of heart failure at the end of life: a systematic literature review.

The growing number of older adults with heart failure (HF) suggests the need for more information about how people with this condition experience their illness and strategies for coping with this condition. To address this need, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature and an in-depth, thematic analysis of qualitative first-person accounts on the lived experience of HF. Results suggest that people with HF face many challenges, including those associated with the formal health care system, life disruption, social isolation, symptoms, and uncertainty about prognosis and symptoms.