Personalizing Choices
Subtitle: The Experiences of Adults with Potentially Life-threatening Conditions in Their Decision-making Regarding Treatment Options
Contributors: University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 256
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Experimental.
Description: The purpose of this study was the generation of a substantive theory to answer the question, "What are the experiences of adults with potentially life threatening conditions in their decision-making regarding treatment options?" Since little is known about how patients make health care decisions under potentially life-threatening conditions, a grounded theory approach was utilized to describe decision-making under these circumstances. A convenience sample of 9 men and 9 women, aged 26-81, with diagnoses of heart disease, renal failure, or cancer were interviewed shortly after making a decision to accept a particular treatment for their condition and again about one month later.

Data were analyzed using a process called the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The core variable, "Personalizing Choices," was identified by the investigator following analysis of interviews. "Personalizing Choices" represents the process by which subjects made decisions about treatment options when they were faced with a potentially life-threatening illness. Subjects reported that their decisions to accept treatment corresponded with their views of themselves within the context of their life stories. Perceptions of family history, past personal experiences, and the experiences of others justified personal expectations about the course of subjects' lives and the potential outcomes of treatment. Subjects were most satisfied with treatments that allowed them to maintain stable self-identities and relationships with significant others. Finally, while recognizing the uncertainty of the future, subjects were filled with hope for themselves and their loved ones. Hopes for the future were mediated by health care providers, whose roles were to provide treatment options that would maximize subjects' chances to live. Subjects remained convinced over time of the appropriateness of their choices and were consistent in their explanations of the factors they considered when choosing among treatment options. Implications for nurses and other health care providers who have the opportunity to assist patients in making health care decisions were explored.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-06, Section: B, page: 2157.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE, 1994.

School code: 0263.