Clinical and demographic moderators of self-care and hospitalizations in pre-coronary artery bypass grafting patients: A cross-sectional study.
Naruebeth Koson, Nittaya Srisuk, Nipaporn Juntratip and 3 others
PMID 39107886WHAT IT FOUND
Patients awaiting heart bypass surgery in Thailand reported adequate self-care maintenance and monitoring but inadequate management.
Higher education, being married, and better heart function predicted better self-care, which was strongly linked to fewer hospitalizations within three months.
Key findings
01Self-care management scores were below the threshold for adequate behavior, driven by poor physical activity and failure to adjust activity levels when symptomatic.
02Education level, marital status, and left ventricular ejection fraction had significant direct positive effects on self-care behavior, while comorbid disease had a negative effect.
03Self-care behavior demonstrated a direct negative effect on hospitalization, meaning better self-care was associated with a lower likelihood of being admitted to the hospital.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a convenience sample from a single center in Thailand, limiting generalizability to other populations or healthcare systems. The cross-sectional design cannot prove causation; it only shows associations between factors and outcomes. The waiting time for surgery was not accounted for in the analysis, despite being a variable that could influence patient behavior and risk. Self-care behavior was measured via self-report, which may be subject to social desirability bias.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest, and the research received no specific grant funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the strong statistical association between self-care and reduced hospitalization as proof that improving self-care behavior will definitively lower admission rates, as this was an observational study without an intervention arm.