Assessment of factors associated with pre-hospital delay in seeking medical treatment among patients with myocardial infarction admitted in selected hospital of Kolkata, West Bengal

Abstract

Myocardial Infarction is a medical emergency which need prompt and early treatment, and delays in seeking care can have adverse consequences on patient’s outcome. Hence a descriptive study was conducted to assess the factors associated with pre-hospital delay in seeking medical treatment among patients with myocardial infarction. Descriptive survey approach was adopted to collect data from 188 subjects selected by non-probability purposive sampling technique. Semi structured interview schedule was used to collect data. Findings revealed that in the aspect of contextual factors, among 188 subjects, majority (44.6%) subjects delayed the treatment because the distance from home to hospital was too far whereas significant people (22.8%) delayed because the symptoms came and went away. In relation to cognitive factors, majority (52.6%) of the subjects delayed because they perceived that the symptoms originated from gastric upset. Similarly in relation to behavioral factors, maximum (49.4%) of the subject delayed because they tried to eliminate the symptoms by doing other activities and taking self- medication. The findings of the study have several implications in nursing. Hence the researcher recommends to undertake similar research in a large group and various interventions can be developed by the nurses to reduce the pre hospital delay in seeking medical treatment in such a disease.