Type D personality negatively associated with self-care in Chinese heart failure patients.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the association between type D personality and self-care behaviors in heart failure (HF) patients. We examined the effect of type D personality on self-care behaviors and self-efficacy among Chinese HF patients.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample was conducted. All participants completed the questionnaires of the self-care of HF index (V6) and type D personality scale. Demographic and clinical variables were obtained from medical records and patient interviews. The methods used for data analysis included descriptive analysis, independent-sample t-test, χ (2) test, and multiple linear regression.


RESULTS
A total of 127 HF patients were included and 61.4% of them were male. The average age for this study sample was 64.9 ± 12.34 years. The majority of the participants were in a New York Heart Association class III or IV (87%), and the average length of living with HF was 38.24 ± 41.1 months. A total of 33.1% of the participants were identified as having type D personality. No significant differences were determined in the demographic and clinical variables between type D and non-type D patients, except for the mean age and the length of living with HF. Type D patients were younger and had a shorter time of living with HF than their non-type D counterparts. Multiple regression demonstrated significant associations between type D personality and self-care maintenance and self-efficacy after adjusting the demographic and clinical factors. However, type D personality was not significantly associated with self-care management behaviors.


CONCLUSIONS
Type D personality was negatively related to self-care maintenance and self-efficacy in Chinese HF patients. Future study is warranted to develop a tailored intervention to improve engagement in self-care behaviors in HF patients with type D personality.
The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Xi
X
Cao
Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xiu-Hua
XH
Wang
The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Eliza Ml
EM
Wong
The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Choi Kai
CK
Chow
The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Sek Ying
SY
Chair
Heart failure; Self-care; Self-efficacy; Type D personality