Does self-care improve coping or does coping improve self-care? A structural equation modeling study.
Barbara Riegel, Claudio Barbaranelli, Michael A Stawnychy and 2 others
PMID 39053987WHAT IT FOUND
In heart failure caregivers, better self-care was linked to less stress, more active coping and better mental health.
Targeting caregiver self-care may be a practical entry point, but these cross-sectional data cannot prove it causes change.
Key findings
01The model in which self-care was linked to stress and coping fit the data better than the model in which stress and coping worked through self-care.
02In the better-fitting model, self-care was linked to mental health through active coping, avoidance coping and stress appraisal.
03Caregiving demands were linked to poorer mental health through avoidance coping and stress appraisal.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Because the data were collected at one time point, the study can show which statistical model fits better, not that self-care caused less stress or better coping. The two main models were not nested, so they could not be compared with a formal statistical test of superiority. The sample came from a single referral centre in the northeastern United States. The caregivers were mostly White, female spouses or partners with adequate finances, so results may not apply to other caregiver groups, although 30% were Black or African American. This analysis used baseline data from a trial of an intervention, so it does not show that the tested intervention changed caregiver self-care, coping or mental health.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by an NIH extramural grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that helping caregivers with self-care will improve coping or mental health. These are cross-sectional associations from baseline data, and the study only compared which statistical model fit better; it did not test the intervention's effects.