What factors are associated with delay in seeking care for acute decompensated heart failure?
Patient education alone may not effectively decrease delay in seeking care for acute decompensated heart failure; interventions should instead target decision-making and include family members.
The response of patients (wait-and-see) and others (eg, don't worry) contributed to delay, as did living in a rural environment. Evaluative characteristics of attribution and understanding were not significant determinants of delay, suggesting that patient education alone will not effectively decrease delay. Instead, interventions directed toward decision making in response to symptoms and inclusion of family members in such discussions may be more effective.
Sethares et al. (2013) studied this question.