The role of patient activation in self-care behaviours of Korean older adults with heart failure.
Youn-Jung Son, Suk Jeong Lee, Sun-Hee Kim
PMID 37013816WHAT IT FOUND
Older Korean outpatients with heart failure who were more confident and willing to manage their health reported better self-care.
When other factors were considered, only activation was linked to self-care; health literacy and disease knowledge were not. This is association, not proof.
Key findings
01In the second model, activation was the only factor associated with self-care behaviour.
02Patients at activation Level 1 had lower health literacy, disease knowledge and self-care behaviour scores than patients at Levels 2, 3 and 4.
03Activation, health literacy and disease knowledge together explained approximately 25% of the variation in self-care behaviour.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The data were a secondary analysis of cross-sectional samples from two hospitals, so causality cannot be inferred. Most participants had NYHA functional classes I or II, and the convenience sample may have overestimated activation and self-care levels. Voluntary participation may have selected more motivated patients. Self-report measures may have been influenced by socially desirable answers. Partner or spouse support, relationship quality and caregiving were not measured. Patient activation and health literacy may share knowledge and skill features. Their separate contributions are harder to interpret.
Declared interests
The work was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea grants funded by the Korea government. The author declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving patient activation will improve heart failure self-care. This study measured activation and self-care at one time using questionnaires, so it can only show an association, not cause and effect.