What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Observational. Population: Heart failure (n=101). Intervention: Autonomous motivation. Primary outcome: Heart failure self-care at 3 months (β = 0.50, p=<0.001).

What does this research mean for the field?

Higher autonomous motivation, but not controlled motivation or amotivation, predicts better long-term self-care in patients with heart failure. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate whether distinct motivation types based on Self-Determination Theory predict heart failure self-care behaviors over time.

September 5, 2026BMC PsychologyOpen Access

Longitudinal relationships between motivation types and heart failure self-care

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Higher autonomous motivation had a significant total effect on predicting better heart failure self-care over 3 months (β = 0.50, p < 0.001), whereas controlled motivation and amotivation did not.

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Higher autonomous motivation, but not controlled motivation or amotivation, predicts better long-term self-care in patients with heart failure. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate whether distinct motivation types based on Self-Determination Theory predict heart failure self-care behaviors over time.

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Key result

Higher autonomous motivation predicts better HF self-care at 3 months, unlike controlled motivation or amotivation.

β = 0.50
P<0.001
n=101

Why the study?

Self-care is essential for long-term HF management, but it remains unclear whether motivation predicts self-care of HF over time.

Design

Longitudinal questionnaire study

Follow-up

3 months

Authors

YSYasser SaeedianCairnmillar Institute PJPaul JansonsDeakin University MFMatthew Fuller-TyszkiewiczDeakin University

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Autonomous motivation was associated with better heart failure self-care; hypothesis-generating for interventions and requires RCTs to confirm.

Key Points

To evaluate whether distinct motivation types based on Self-Determination Theory predict heart failure self-care behaviors over time.
Conducted a prospective longitudinal survey study administering questionnaires at baseline (T1) and a 3-month follow-up (T2).
Enrolled N=101 participants at T1 (60 females), of whom N=81 (46 females) completed the T2 follow-up.
Higher autonomous motivation at baseline was significantly associated with higher baseline self-care and indirectly predicted higher 3-month self-care through baseline self-care and sustained follow-up autonomous motivation.
Controlled motivation and amotivation showed no statistically significant direct or indirect associations with self-care across time points.
Higher baseline autonomous motivation was associated with significantly lower amotivation at the 3-month follow-up.

Study Design

Type

Observational (n=101)

Structured PICO

Population

101 adults with a self-reported diagnosis of heart failure were followed for 3 months to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between motivation types and self-care behaviors.

Outcome

Self-care behaviors assessed using the nine-item European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale (EHFScB-9) at 3 monthspatient reported

Main Result

Effect estimate: β = 0.50

p-value: p=<0.001

Autonomous motivation, but not controlled motivation or amotivation, is a significant predictor of sustained self-care behaviors in patients with heart failure.

Limitations

Observational design and two measurement occasions do not permit causal conclusions
Self-care and motivation were assessed by self-report and may be affected by recall or social-desirability bias
Recruitment primarily through online advertisements requiring internet access and English proficiency may limit representativeness
20 participants (19.8%) did not complete the follow-up, potentially introducing attrition bias
The amotivation subscale contained only two items and showed modest reliability
The Australian setting may limit generalizability to other healthcare systems and populations
Recruitment primarily through online advertisements requiring internet access and English proficiency limits generalizability
20 participants (19.8%) did not complete the follow-up, reducing power and potentially introducing attrition bias
Amotivation subscale contained only two items and showed modest reliability
Australian setting may limit generalizability

Cite This Study

Saeedian et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Heart failure (n=101). Autonomous motivation was evaluated on Heart failure self-care at 3 months (β = 0.50, p=<0.001). Higher autonomous motivation had a significant total effect on predicting better heart failure self-care over 3 months (β = 0.50, p < 0.001), whereas controlled motivation and amotivation did not.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd4046b95aff0620eb525 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05337-0

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Implication

Autonomous motivation was associated with better heart failure self-care; hypothesis-generating for interventions and requires RCTs to confirm.

Longitudinal relationships between motivation types and heart failure self-care

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Longitudinal relationships between motivation types and heart failure self-care

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider