Family coping profiles in patients with chronic heart failure: a latent profile analysis

Background Family coping is integral to chronic heart failure management, yet systematic research on how families collectively cope remains limited. This study aimed to identify distinct family coping patterns among CHF patients and examine their associations with sociodemographic factors, fatigue, and family functioning. Design This cross-sectional study was conducted in China. Methods Patients with chronic heart failure were recruited through convenience sampling from tertiary hospitals in Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Participants completed questionnaires assessing sociodemographic characteristics, family coping (FCS-CHF), fatigue (CChFS), and family functioning (CGFFS). Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify distinct coping subgroups, followed by chi-square tests, t-tests, and binary logistic regression to examine the factors associated with the profile membership of these subgroups. Results A total of 536 patients were included in this study. Latent profile analysis identified two distinct coping patterns among families: constructive family coping (56.7%) and depleting family coping (43.3%). The constructive family coping pattern consistently scored higher across all six coping dimensions. Binary logistic regression revealed that family structure, family size, annual household income, and family functioning were significantly associated with the type of coping pattern adopted by families. Specifically, better family functioning (OR = 0.311, p < 0.001), a medium family size (3–6 persons; OR = 0.427, p = 0.004), and higher income (≥200,000 CNY; OR = 0.415, p = 0.025) were associated with a lower likelihood of depleting family coping. In contrast, a nuclear family structure was associated with a higher likelihood of depleting family coping (OR = 1.739, p = 0.048). Conclusion This study provides empirical evidence of two distinct family coping profiles among patients with chronic heart failure in a rural resource-limited population. The findings highlight the need for tailored, family centered nursing interventions that address specific support needs, including comprehensive multicomponent support for depleting families and reinforcement of existing strengths for constructive families. Future research should extend these findings through multi-informant designs that capture both patient and family member perspectives and through replication in more diverse populations to establish their generalizability to other populations.