title: Self-care and Its Predictors in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure in Western Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic heart failure (CHF) is an increasing and costly health problem worldwide. Effective self-care behaviors reduce the cost and improve CHF outcomes. Interventions targeting improvement of self-care need to identify the baseline status of patients and factors associated with self-care to tailor the programs to patients' needs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to describe self-care and its predictors in patients with CHF in western Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study, 255 patients with CHF in Kermanshah were recruited and 231 (mean [SD] age, 66 [13] years; 51.5% women) completed the interviews. Self-care maintenance, self-care management, and self-care confidence were evaluated using a Persian heart failure self-care index. Each of these 3 measures had a total possible score of 100, with 22 indicators.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (SD) self-care scores were low: maintenance, 33.8 (10.7); management, 32.2 (12.0); and confidence, 43.6 (15.6). Self-care maintenance was significantly and positively associated with education, disease duration, and living conditions. Self-care management was significantly and positively associated with education and number of hospital admissions. However, the parameter estimates in all those relationships were small.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-care in patients with CHF in Iran needs major improvement, and many determinants of self-care identified by other studies were not consistently associated with poor self-care scores in Iran. Further research considering a wide range of factors associated with self-care (eg, socioeconomic and health system-related factors) and application of culturally relevant interventional strategies is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Soraya Siabani, MD, PhD(c) PhD student in Public Health-Epidemiology, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and Faculty member, School of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. Tim Driscoll, BSc (Med), MB, BS, MOHS, PhD Professor, Epidemiology and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Patricia M. Davidson, PhD, RN, FAAN Professor of Cardiovascular and Chronic Care, Dean and Professor of School of Nursing, Department of Acute and Chronic Care, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Farid Najafi, MD, PhD Professor of Epidemiology, Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, School of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. Marisa C. Jenkins, RN, BHSc(Nsg), MNsg(Manag), MScMed (ClinEpi) Tutor in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Stephen R. Leeder, MD, PhD, FRACP Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siabani
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.forename: Marisa C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Leeder
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012648:Self Care; D012649:Self Concept; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors