On the Consideration of Self-Care Behaviors in Patients Affected by Congestive Heart Failure and Factors Related to it

Background and objectives: The current study aimed at considering the performance, attitude and awareness level of patients affected by congestive heart failure who were hospitalized in Zahedan hospitals with regard to the self-care behaviors and factors related to it. Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 140 patients with congestive heart failure who were hospitalized in various hospitals during 2015. The required data was collected through interview and a designed questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, SPSS Software, version 15, was used through chi-square test, t-test, and ANOVA test. Findings: There was a direct correlation between patients’ awareness level and attitude (p˂ 0.001 and r=0.459), and behavior (p˂ 0.001 and r=0.345). In addition, a direct correlation was observed between patients’ attitude and their behavior (p= 0.003 and r=0.452). However, there was a reverse correlation between patients’ age and their awareness level (p= 0.003 and r= -0.253), and their attitude (p˂ 0.03 and r= -0.181). By performing an ANOVA test, it was revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between educational level and awareness (p= 0.001), and patients’ attitude (p= 0.006). The average number of hospitalization was 3.31%, the most important reasons for hospitalization was shortness of breath (dyspnea) (74%), and the most prevalent background diseases was hypertension (74.3%). Conclusion: It is necessary to pay enough attention to patients’ needs in this regard, and provide suitable educational programs which improve the patients’ awareness level and positive attitude; finally, these programs can promote self-care behaviors in patients.