Predictors of self-care in persons with heart failure.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to test a model of individual patient characteristics, covering symptom severity, comorbidity, social support, education, age, socioeconomic status, and gender, derived from Connelly's Model of Self-Care in Chronic Illness as predictors of self-care in heart failure.


METHODS
This was a nonexperimental correlational study.


METHODS
The study took place in 6 hospitals in southern California.


METHODS
The study included 209 patients diagnosed with heart failure by their physicians. The typical study participant was age 73 years, Class III, married, grade-school educated, and earning an income of less than $20,000 per year. The genders were almost equally represented.


METHODS
Self-care was measured by the Evaluating the Change subscale of the Self-Management of Heart Failure Instrument.


RESULTS
The model of 7 variables, analyzed by using multiple regression analysis, explained 10.3% of the variance in self-care. Only 2 of the variables were significant predictors of self-care: education (P =.009) and symptom severity (P =.046); 89.7% of the variance remained unexplained.


CONCLUSIONS
Persons with higher education and those who are symptomatic may be more likely to engage in self-care than those who are poorly educated or asymptomatic. Further research is needed to confirm these Results and identify other predictors of self-care.
Rockwell
J M
JM
Sparrow Health Systems, Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Riegel
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012648:Self Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*