The Contribution of Living Arrangements, Social Support, and Self-efficacy to Self-management Behaviors Among Individuals With Heart Failure: A Path Analysis.
Elliane Irani, Scott Emory Moore, Ronald L Hickman and 3 others
PMID 31058704WHAT IT FOUND
Living with someone was linked to higher perceived social support, which in turn boosted self-efficacy and self-management behaviors in heart failure patients.
Age and disease severity also influenced support and confidence. These factors acted indirectly, not directly, on care behaviors.
Key findings
01Living alone was associated with lower social support, while older age was associated with higher social support.
02Social support and self-efficacy had direct associations with self-management behaviors, whereas living arrangements and disease severity did not.
03Living arrangements influenced self-management behaviors indirectly through social support, and social support influenced behaviors indirectly through self-efficacy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design prevents causal conclusions about how living arrangements or support influence self-management. The study relied on self-reported measures of social support and did not assess actual received support or caregiver quality. Participants were recruited from two hospital systems in Northeast Ohio, which may limit generalizability to other populations. The measure of self-management behaviors (SCHFI self-care maintenance) had low internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.55), raising questions about the reliability of the outcome variable.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret living alone as a direct cause of poor self-management. The study found that living arrangements influenced self-management indirectly through perceived social support and self-efficacy, and the cross-sectional design cannot prove causation.