Key result
Heart failure outpatients attending a multidisciplinary Canadian clinic demonstrated inadequate self-care (SCHFI scores <70) and reported only a moderate quality of life.
Why the study?
What is the level of self-care and quality of life among heart failure patients attending a multidisciplinary heart function clinic?
Cross-Sectional (n=100)
No
What is the level of self-care and quality of life among heart failure patients attending a multidisciplinary heart function clinic?
Patients at a Canadian multidisciplinary heart failure clinic demonstrated inadequate self-care and moderate quality of life, highlighting the need for targeted self-care education and interventions to address barriers.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Self-care remains inadequate in HF clinic outpatients; leaves open whether targeted interventions improve outcomes in similar settings.
BACKGROUND: Multidisciplinary heart function clinics aim to improve self-care through patient education and to provide clinical management. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the present study were to investigate the self-care and quality of life of patients attending a multidisciplinary heart function clinic and to explore the relationship between self-care and quality of life. METHODS: One hundred outpatients attending a multidisciplinary heart function clinic were asked to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire included the Self-care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) and the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire, which were used to assess self-care behavior and quality of life, respectively. Self-care practices and perceived barriers were also assessed through semistructured interviews with each patient. RESULTS: : The returned questionnaires (n = 94) were used to compute the following SCHFI maintenance, management, and confidence scores: 60.8 (SD, 19.3), 62.0 (SD, 20.7), and 55.9 (SD, 19.7), respectively. Higher SCHFI scores indicate better self-care. None of the self-care dimensions reached the self-care adequacy cut point of 70. The average score on the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire was 49.9 (SD, 25.4), indicating a moderate health-related quality of life. Lower ejection fraction, older age, and better quality of life were associated with better self-care. Determinants of better quality of life were older age, better functional capacity, higher self-care confidence, and fewer comorbidities. The patient interviews revealed that better quality of life is associated with higher self-care confidence and barriers to self-care caused anxiety to the patients. The self-care barriers were found to include lack of self-care education, financial constraints, lack of perceived benefit, and low self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Patients attending a large multidisciplinary Canadian heart failure clinic do not perform adequate self-care as measured with the SCHFI and report only a moderate quality of life. Increasing self-care through education and tools that target self-care barriers are required and may help improve quality of life.
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Seto et al. (2011) conducted a cross-sectional in Heart Failure (n=100). Multidisciplinary heart function clinic care was evaluated on Self-care behavior (SCHFI) and quality of life (Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire). Heart failure outpatients attending a multidisciplinary Canadian clinic demonstrated inadequate self-care (SCHFI scores <70) and reported only a moderate quality of life.
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