The role of patient activation in self-care behaviours of Korean older adults with heart failure.

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating the level of patient activation, and its association with self-care behaviours in older people with heart failure. Cross-sectional secondary data analysis was conducted. We included a total of 182 Korean patients with heart failure who were aged ≥65 years for a cardiovascular outpatient clinic visit. Baseline characteristics, the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), health literacy, disease knowledge and self-care behaviours were collected via a self-administered questionnaire. The proportion of patient activation at Levels 1 and 2 was 22.5% and 14.3%, respectively. Highly activated patients had a high level of health literacy, disease knowledge and self-care behaviours. After adjusting for confounding factors, we observed that patient activation was the only statiscally significant predictor of self-care behaviours among older people with heart failure. Healthcare professionals should help patients take active roles in their self-care through a comprehensive needs assessment including health literacy and disease knowledge.