Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Nursing

Advisor

Martha Whetsell

Committee Members

Stephen Baumann

William T Gallo

Frances LaFauci

Miguel Villegas

Subject Categories

Geriatric Nursing | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

Keywords

Older women, heart attack, hope, health related quality of life

Abstract

Background: Heart disease is the number one cause of death and leading cause of disability in adults in the United States. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of heart disease with heart attack as its acute manifestation. Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is a multidimensional concept of self-perception of physical, emotional health, and overall sense of well-being. Hope, an inner process focusing on maintaining physical and mental well-being, is considered necessary for survival of chronic illnesses, such as CHD.

Method: Women age 65 and older who have had heart attacks (N=91) volunteered to participate in this quantitative non-experimental correlational study. They completed a demographic questionnaire, SF12 and HHI.

Findings: Marital status was related to HHI scores, t(90) = -2.70, p = .041, with married participants having greater mean score (40.87) compared to singles (38.39). General Health, r(89) = .244, p = .02; Mental Health, r(89) = .352, p = .001; Vitality, r(89) = .221, p = .035; Social Functioning, r(89) = .333, p = .001 and Role Emotion , r(89) = .223, p = .034 correlated with HHI. Marital Status , t(89) = 2.07, p = .041 and Mental Health, t(88) = 3.40, p = .001, best predicted the HHI and explained an adjusted total of 13.8% of variance in HHI scores, R = .397, F(1,88) = 8.21, p = .001. Relationship between HRQoL and HHI revealed significant findings pertaining to age and ethnicity. Cronbach's alpha on HHI (α=.838) and SF 12 (α=.822) revealed internal consistency.

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