Resilience and Self-Care in Patients with Heart Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: A key component of managing heart failure, self-care can significantly affect patient outcomes. Patients may find the constant and intricate demands of self-care stressful, and they may need to show resilience to manage their symptoms. Objectives: The present study aimed to identify resilience and self-care among patients with heart failure. Methodology: The design of the present study was cross-sectional. The research population consisted of heart failure patients visiting the cardiac hospitals and admitted to the cardiac ward. A convenience sampling method was used to select 200 patients with heart failure. The data were collected from April 6th, 2023 to June 29th, 2023 about the participants’ demographic variables, Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI V6.2 English), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, standard deviation, mean score) for the demographic variables. To assess reliability, Cronbach’s alpha was used. Results: The present study showed that the majority of sample (n=185, 92.5%) had a medium level of self-care in symptom perception (Mean±SD= 28.86±16.32), self-care maintenance (Mean±SD= 34.2±15.63), and self-care management (Mean±SD= 35.52±17.25). The research findings showed a strong negative association between patients' resilience and self-care (p<0.001). There was a statistically significant association between self-care and participants’ marital status (p=0.02). Self-care was greater among those who were married. Conclusion: The present findings showed that patients with heart failure had a moderate level of self-care and resilience. There were associations between resilience and self-care in heart failure patients. The variables that may mediate or affect self-care need to be well-recognized by the research population