Purpose: Lay consultations can facilitate or impede healthcare.\nHowever, little is known about how lay consultations for symptom\nevaluation affect treatment decision-making. The purpose of this study\nwas to explore the role of lay consultations in symptom evaluation\nprior to hospitalization among patients with heart failure.\nMethods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60\npatients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure. Chisquare\nand Fisher�s exact tests, along with logistic regression were\nused to characterize lay consultations in this sample.\nResults: A large proportion of patients engaged in lay\nconsultations for symptom evaluation and decision-making before\nhospitalization. Lay consultants provided attributions and advice\nand helped make the decision to seek medical care. Men consulted\nmore often with their spouse than women, while women more often\nconsulted with adult children.\nConclusions: Findings have implications for optimizing heart\nfailure self-management interventions, improving outcomes, and\nreducing hospital readmissions.
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