Factors Influencing Self-Care Among Patients With Heart Failure Based on the Situation-Specific Theory: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Kyoung-Hwa Kim, Chun-Ja Kim, Eun Ji Seo and 3 others
PMID 41847883WHAT IT FOUND
In 134 Korean patients with heart failure, low self-care was common; self-efficacy, health literacy, social support, symptoms, age, religion and employment were associated with self-care.
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Key findings
01Most patients had low self-care: 74.6% scored below 70 for maintenance, 80.6% for symptom perception and 70.1% for management.
02Self-efficacy was a significant predictor of all three self-care components in multiple regression.
03Social support predicted maintenance and management; health literacy predicted symptom perception and management.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Convenience sample from one hospital in South Korea, so findings may not apply elsewhere. Cross-sectional design cannot show that the factors caused better self-care. Participants had mild to moderate HF and excluded severe disease, advanced HF or cognitive impairment, so it does not speak to more unstable patients. The study did not measure all situation-specific theory factors, such as attitudes, habits, motives, values, cognitive impairment and community policies. The analysis did not adjust for potential confounders.
Declared interests
The authors report no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving self-efficacy, health literacy or social support will raise self-care. This was a single-time survey of associations, not a tested intervention.