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. 2020 Apr;35(4):482-499.
doi: 10.1080/08870446.2019.1643023. Epub 2019 Jul 21.

The impact of support provided by close others in the emergency department on threat perceptions

Talea Cornelius  1 , Lilly Derby  1 , Melissa Dong  1 , Donald Edmondson  1
Affiliations

The impact of support provided by close others in the emergency department on threat perceptions

Talea Cornelius et al. Psychol Health. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Having close others present in the emergency department (ED) can cause patients significant distress. The present study tested the hypothesis that close others provide more negative support than non-close others as a potential explanation for this effect.Design: Participants were 493 patients evaluated for an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the ED (MAge = 62.01, SDAge = 13.55; 49.49% male) and who arrived with close others (i.e. spouse/partner, child) or non-close others (e.g. neighbour). Patients self-reported support from companions and threat perceptions (in-ED and at recall approximately three days later).Main outcome measures: Positive support (comfort, responsiveness); negative support (made patients anxious, required comforting); threat perceptions (feeling helpless, vulnerable).Results: Close (vs non-close) others provided patients with marginally more positive support, but also required more comfort, B = 0.32, p = .050, and caused patients more anxiety, B = 0.24, p = .009. Anxiety was associated with patients' Threat Perceptions: in-ED, B = 0.11, p = .002; recall, B = 0.14, p < .001; as was provision of comfort to support partners: recall, B = .06, p = .005.Conclusion: Negative support may be one mechanism underlying the association between close others and patient distress in the ED.

Keywords: Posttraumatic stress; acute coronary syndrome; close others; emergency department; social support.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure statement: All authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mediation model showing the indirect effect of bringing close others to the ED vs. bringing non-close others to the ED on in-ED Threat Perceptions through anxiety caused to patients by companions; +p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mediation model showing the indirect effect of bringing close others to the ED vs. bringing non-close others to the ED on recalled Threat Perceptions through caused comfort provided by patients to companions; +p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mediation model showing the indirect effect of bringing close others to the ED vs. bringing non-close others to the ED on recalled Threat Perceptions through anxiety caused to patients by companions; +p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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