Facilitators and barriers to the adoption of healthy lifestyles after first myocardial infarction in Chile: A qualitative study

Factors associated with therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) after myocardial infarction (MI) have not been fully investigated in Chile. This study aimed to provide a descriptive examination of facilitators and barriers to TLC after first MI. Methods: Qualitative study based on in-depth interviews and focus groups with cardiologists and patients who had first MI one-year±2 months before the begin-ning of the study. Grounded theory research methods were used to guide sampling and coding of data. Results: Twenty-one patients who had first myocardial infarction and 14 cardiologists participated in in-depth interviews and focus groups until the point of theoretical saturation. Facilitators for TLC included optimism, self-efficacy, faith-based life purpose, positive attitudes by family and friends, social participation, good patient-physician relationship, and positive medical advice. Barriers were: individual (older age, female sex, lower educational level, limiting beliefs, ambi val ence, depressive mood, lack of knowledge on strategies to achieve TLC, financial constraints), family (family crisis, overprotection, im-posing attitudes, unhealthy habits at home), work (work overload and competition between work recovery and TLC), socio-environmental (neighborhood unsafety), and health provider-related (poor patient-physician re-lationship, limiting beliefs among physicians, medical advice centered on restrictions or imprecise, medical training focused on pharmacological therapies and in-terventional procedures over preventive care, and orga-nizational issues). Conclusions: Reported facilitators and barriers enhance understanding of the process of lifestyle change after first myocardial infarction, and might be targets for optimization of secondary preventive strategies among Chilean patients.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bambs,Claudia, Sgombich,María, Leiva,Loreto, Baraona,Fernando, Margozzini,Paula, Pizarro,Claudia, Rojas,Ana
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedad Chilena de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular 2015
Online Access:	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-85602015000300001
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