Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF SELF-CARE BEHAVIOR AND RELATED FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, KERALA

Chithra A. Valsan, K. T. Moly* and Anjana A. P.

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Abstract

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a chronic progressive debilitating cardiovascular disorder which demands lifetime treatment and better self-care adherence to maintain the best possible well-being. The main objective of the study was to assess self-care behaviour and related factors in patients with HF and prepare a self-care guide for patients with HF based on the identified related factors. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive design was used to collect data from 160 HF patients using a convenience sampling technique. Socio-demographic data, clinical data and knowledge on HF were collected using structured questionnaires while self-care behaviour and depression were assessed using EHFSc Behaviour Scale-9 and PHQ-9, respectively. Results: The mean self-care behaviour was found to be good (21.08 ± 5.998) in patients with HF. Among the nine components of self-care behaviour, the highest self-care adherence was found in regular medication (1.13±0.51) and the lowest, in daily weighing (3.53±1.02) and regular exercise (3.21±1.33). The knowledge of HF and depression were the two factors studied in detail. The majority of the subjects (78.12%) had average knowledge on HF with 18.13% poor knowledge and 3.75% good knowledge on HF. Mild to moderate depression was noticed in 53.74% of subjects. Nearly half of the subjects (46.25%) had no depression. A statistically significant association was found between self-care behaviour and depression (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Although the self-care behaviour was found good in the study subjects, the two areas of poor adherence (daily weighing and regular exercise) need further exploration in terms of feasibility and mental status. No statistically significant association was found between HF knowledge and self-care behaviour. Even though nearly half of the subjects had no depression, a statistically significant association was observed.

Keywords: Heart failure, Self-care, Depression, Knowledge.