Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1984

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Graduate Nursing

Abstract

Denial has been recognized as a possible adaptation mechanism for patients with heart disease, stroke, brain damage, cancer, emphysema, manic-depressive psychos is, and neurologic disorders. Croog and coworkers discovered that twenty percent of 345 men treated for three weeks after a first myocardial infarction denied they had even had a heart attack. The problem under investigation in this study is: What is the relationship between the use of denial as a form of adaptation and the type of behavior pattern reflected in male patients within two weeks of admission to a coronary care unit with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction? Research indicates that the use of denial as a form of adaptation by myocardial infarction patients tends to decrease mortality in the immediate, forty-eight hour post infarction period, but decreases compliance in the post-hospitalization period. Therefore, cardiovascular nurses could assume that assessment of the use of denial might be important for increasing patient compliance towards cardiac rehabilitation in the myocardial infarction patient. If nurses can determine that the use of denial is associated with a particular behavior pattern, such as the Type A behavior pattern who are at high risk for myocardial infarction, nurses can develop plans of care with those individuals which would increase compliance in post-hospitalization. The objectives of this study are the following: 1. To determine the frequency of denial used by the male patient experiencing myocardial infarction according to the response to the Hackett-Cassem Denial Scale. 2. To determine whether the Type A behavior pattern or the Type B behavior pattern is reflected by the male patient experiencing myocardial infarction according to the response to the Jenkins Activity Survey. 3. To determine if there is a relationship between the use of denial as a form of adaptation and the type of behavior pat tern reflected by the male patient experiencing myocardial infarction.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Denial (Psychology)
Myocardial infarction -- Patients
Myocardial infarction -- Psychological aspects

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

99

Publisher

South Dakota State University

Rights

No Copyright - United State
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

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