Self-care in heart failure patients: Assessment and influencing factors.
Keywords:
«self-care», «tools», «factors», «predictors», «heart failure».Abstract
Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a global health problem which, according to the guidelines of cardiology societies, can be effectively treated by adopting self-care behaviors. Despite the benefits of self-care in disease management, it appears that assessing and defining factors that influence it receive less attention.
Aim: Highlighting the importance of assessing the level of self-care of patients with HF, as well as identifying the factors that influence it.
Material and Methods: The literature was searched through electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar) using the terms: «self-care», «tools», «factors», «predictors» and «heart failure», in various combinations. Inclusion criteria were studies: a) published in the English language, b) published in the last decade, and c) conducted in adults.
Results: The review of the international literature showed the importance of assessing the self-care of patients with HF, which should be done using specialized tools. The factors that can influence self-care are divided into 5 categories: 1) Factors related to the patient, 2) Socioeconomic factors, 3) Factors related to the individual's health status, 4) Factors related to treatment and 5) Factors related to the health system. Factors with a positive effect are motivation, high educational and economic level, adherence to treatment instructions, patient education and knowledge of disease, etc. On the contrary, depression, Type D personality, advanced HF stage, repeated readmissions, comorbidities etc. act as inhibitors to the implementation of self-care behaviors.
Conclusions: Self-care of HF patients can be accurately assessed using specialized tools. A significant number of factors influence (positively and negatively) self-care. Both the assessment and determination of factors influencing self-care and the education of patients with HF are recommended to be part of daily clinical practice, with the nurse playing a central role
