title: Work-heart balance: the influence of biobehavioral variables on self-care among employees with heart failure.
abstract: The complexities of managing heart failure among employees have not been studied. In this mixed methods study, the authors explored how cognition, physical functioning, attitudes, and self-efficacy influence self-care among employees with heart failure. Forty-one adults (White, 68.3%; male, 63.4%; median age, 51 years; employed, 48.8%) completed in-depth interviews and standardized instruments. Content analysis was used to derive themes from narrative accounts of self-care practices, attitudes, and self-efficacy within the context of employment. Descriptive and nonparametric statistics were used to describe the sample and generate hypotheses about relationships among the variables. Most of the employed participants (N = 13) worked full-time (65%), primarily in sedentary jobs. Cognition and physical functioning were better in those who were employed (p = .02), but self-care practices were lower (p = .03). Those who successfully managed heart failure and work described strategies to incorporate self-care into their workdays, self-efficacy in managing symptoms while at work, and favorable attitudes toward employment.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria Vaughan
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: McCauley
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Riegel
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric