Dilemmas of family support during cardiac recovery: nagging as a gesture of support.

Family support has rarely been viewed as a relational phenomenon with interactional dynamics that shape individual and family experiences of cardiac recovery. This article describes a hermeneutic inquiry based on a retrospective review of videotapes of 24 clinical outpatient sessions between a family systems clinical nurse specialist and six families presenting with concerns related to living with heart disease. The research question that framed the analysis was "What is the relational character of family support during cardiac recovery?" One of the key patterns that emerged from the interpretations of clinical sessions with four of the six families was a dynamic well known in everyday experience and identified by families as "nagging." This article reveals nagging as an attempt to offer emotional support and encouragement for health maintenance activities. The helpful and potentially harmful consequences are discussed and possibilities for incorporating these understandings in clinical practice are explored.