Higher self-management skills were independently associated with greater perceived responsibility and willingness for self-care (median scores ≥7 for most activities) among heart failure patients.
Cross-Sectional (n=344)
Heart failure patients generally perceive high responsibility and willingness for self-care, which is strongly associated with their self-management skills and health literacy.
Abstract Background Self-care is central to heart failure (HF) management and requires patients to take responsibility and actively engage in their care. Healthcare professionals often perceive the division of self-care responsibilities between themselves and patients as unclear. Purpose To examine how patients with HF perceive their responsibility for and willingness to engage in self-care. Second, to explore whether patient characteristics influence engagement in and responsibility for self-care. Methods Patients with HF affiliated with a Dutch cardiovascular patient organisation were invited to complete a cross-sectional survey on demographics, socioeconomic factors, health literacy (HLS-EU-Q6), HF self-care (EHFScBS), self-management (PIH), and perceived responsibility and willingness for self-care. Responsibility and willingness were assessed across fifteen self-care activities, categorised by the three self-care domains (maintenance, monitoring, management), using a 10-point Likert Scale (responsibility: healthcare professional is responsible to the individual is responsible; willingness: the individual is not willing to engage to full willingness). The survey was distributed between October-November 2025. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed. Results A total of 344 patients with HF completed the survey. The median age was 70 years (IQR 63–77), with an equal distribution of men and women, and a median HF duration of five years (IQR 3–10). Most participants were classified as NYHA class II (40.4%) or III (38.7%). While 54% had adequate health literacy, 46% had problematic or insufficient levels (Table 1). The median self-management score was 82 out of 108. For most self-care activities, patients reported a median responsibility and willingness score of 7 or higher, indicating that patients felt responsible for and were willing to perform these activities. Lower median scores were observed for medication-related self-care (knowing when to take the correct medication, adjusting medication), and contacting the outpatient clinic (median scores ≤5). Higher self-management skills were independently associated with greater responsibility and willingness across all self-care domains. Health literacy was independently associated with responsibility and willingness for self-care management. Older age and less severe HF were associated with responsibility for self-care maintenance, while female sex was associated with lower responsibility and willingness for self-care management. Conclusion Patients with HF generally perceive high responsibility and willingness for self-care activities, particularly when self-management skills are well developed. Interventions aimed at enhancing self-care responsibility and willingness may benefit from strengthening self-management skills and health literacy, and from tailoring strategies to patient characteristic within each self-care activity.Table 1Study population
Eijk et al. (Wed,) conducted a cross-sectional in Heart failure (n=344). Self-management skills and health literacy was evaluated on Perceived responsibility and willingness to engage in self-care. Higher self-management skills were independently associated with greater perceived responsibility and willingness for self-care (median scores ≥7 for most activities) among heart failure patients.