The Cultural Meaning of Cardiac Illness and Self-Care Among Lebanese Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Background: Cardiac disease is the leading cause of death in Lebanon, accounting for 22% to 26% of total deaths in the country. A thorough understanding of perceptions of cardiac illness and related self-care management is critical to the development of secondary prevention programs that are specific to the Lebanese culture. Purpose: To explore the cultural perceptions of cardiac illness and the associated meaning of self-care among Lebanese patients. Design: Using a qualitative descriptive method, semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 Lebanese cardiac patients recruited from a medical center in Beirut, Lebanon. Findings: The qualitative descriptive analysis yielded one overarching and two other themes describing perceptions of cardiac illness and self-care within the Lebanese cultural context. The overarching cultural theme was, “Lebanese cardiac patients were unfamiliar with the term concept and meaning of self-care.” Lebanese cardiac patients thanked God and accepted their fate (Theme I). The participants considered their cardiac incident a life or death warning (Theme II). Implications for Practice: Health care providers need to consider patients’ cultural perception of illness while planning and evaluating cardiac self-care programs.