‘In a perfect world doctors and the medical profession would accept people for who they are’: women’s heart health information practices

Abstract

Introduction. This exploratory study investigates women’s health information practices by examining how women perceive and interpret heart health information from organizations such as Heart & Stroke Canada that are targeted specifically to them. Method. Focus groups were conducted with women (45 – 90 years) with heart disease and without heart disease and three women with heart disease participated in semi-structured interviews. Analysis. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes that shaped women’s perceptions and interpretations of heart health information were identified: personal expertise and experiential knowledge, consistency in information content, embodied information, ability to act on information, and shame and blame. Results. Women draw from epistemic, social, and corporeal information sources in order to make sense of heart disease. Coupling corporeal and experiential knowledge are important for women to triangulate information. Women’s heart health information practices occur within an androcentric, sociocultural context where broader social information sources that focus on ‘ideal’ health standards must align with women’s lived experiences in order for the information to be acted upon. Conclusions.To craft more effective messages and provide helpful information about heart health, messages and information must align with women’s information practices in ways that acknowledge the intersections and consistency of epistemic, social, and corporeal information sources and the information must be actionable.