OBJECTIVE: Guided by Leventhal's self-regulatory model and Cockerham's theory of health lifestyles, we explore two questions regarding physician consultation among elderly rural adults: What symptom characteristics prompt patient-initiated physician consultation? Do participants' accounts of responses to symptoms, including the decision to consult a physician, incorporate descriptions of change over time? METHOD: We analyze data from semistructured in-depth interviews with 62 older rural adults. RESULTS: Accounts of decisions to initiate contact with physicians support prior research. Some symptoms encouraged immediate consultation; others prompted periods of monitoring and lay management. Physicians were most often contacted if changes were new, unusually severe, persisted or worsened, or failed to respond to lay treatment. DISCUSSION: We characterize participants' responses to symptoms as bricolages to highlight their construction from available materials. Incorporating the integrating concept of bricolage and Cockerham's emphasis on both general dispositions and symptom-specific responses represents an important extension of Leventhal's conceptualization of illness behavior, including patient-initiated physician consultation.
OBJECTIVE: Guided by Leventhal's self-regulatory model and Cockerham's theory of health lifestyles, we explore two questions regarding physician consultation among elderly rural adults: What symptom characteristics prompt patient-initiated physician consultation? Do participants' accounts of responses to symptoms, including the decision to consult a physician, incorporate descriptions of change over time? METHOD: We analyze data from semistructured in-depth interviews with 62 older rural adults. RESULTS: Accounts of decisions to initiate contact with physicians support prior research. Some symptoms encouraged immediate consultation; others prompted periods of monitoring and lay management. Physicians were most often contacted if changes were new, unusually severe, persisted or worsened, or failed to respond to lay treatment. DISCUSSION: We characterize participants' responses to symptoms as bricolages to highlight their construction from available materials. Incorporating the integrating concept of bricolage and Cockerham's emphasis on both general dispositions and symptom-specific responses represents an important extension of Leventhal's conceptualization of illness behavior, including patient-initiated physician consultation.
Authors: Thomas A Arcury; Joseph G Grzywacz; Eleanor P Stoller; Ronny A Bell; Kathryn P Altizer; Christine Chapman; Sara A Quandt Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2009-03-13 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Daniel O Clark; Richard M Frankel; David L Morgan; Gretchen Ricketts; Matthew J Bair; Kathryn A Nyland; Christopher M Callahan Journal: J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Date: 2008-09 Impact factor: 4.077
Authors: Graeme B Wilson; Eileen F S Kaner; Ann Crosland; Jonathan Ling; Karen McCabe; Catherine A Haighton Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-08-07 Impact factor: 3.240