Puerto Rican Women’s Perceptions of Heart Disease Risk

Jean Lange, Sharon Evans-Benard, Jennifer Cooper, Ellen Fahey, Marlain Kalapos, Donna Tice, Nancy Wang-D'Amato and Nancy Watsky
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Jean Lange: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA, jlange@fairfield.edu
Sharon Evans-Benard: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
Jennifer Cooper: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
Ellen Fahey: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
Marlain Kalapos: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
Donna Tice: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
Nancy Wang-D'Amato: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
Nancy Watsky: Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA

Clinical Nursing Research, 2009, vol. 18, issue 4, 291-306

Abstract: Women frequently fail to recognize that coronary heart disease (CHD), not breast cancer, is the primary cause of female mortality. CHD mortality among U.S. mainland Puerto Rican (PR) women is second only to African American women. It is unknown what PR women understand about their risk, what factors they believe contribute to CHD, or whether they know the atypical symptoms often experienced by women. Most CHD studies exclude Hispanic women. Those that do often aggregate their results, making subgroup variations invisible. This study explored awareness of CHD symptoms, risks, and help-seeking behaviors among 12 PR women. Focus group methodology revealed that participants were unaware of their risk and had misconceptions about CHD symptoms and contributing factors. Barriers to early recognition and treatment included lack of knowledge, gender role conflict (caregiver vs. care recipient), and fears of falsely alarming family members or the embarrassment of feeling “dismissed†by health care providers.

Keywords: heart disease; Hispanic; Puerto Rican; women; risk factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:clnure:v:18:y:2009:i:4:p:291-306

DOI: 10.1177/1054773809346539

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