Effects Of Type D Personality On Self-care Behaviors Among Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Objectives:(1) To describe the performance of self-care behaviors among heart failure (HF) patients and (2) examine the effects of type D personality on self-care behaviors in HF patients and (3) to examine the determinants of self-care behaviors in HF patients.Methods:This is cross-sectional study was guided by naturalistic decision making theory and HF self-care model. One hundred and twenty seven participants who were18years or older, and diagnosed with HF were selected from3sites. Data were collected with6instruments:investigator-developed demography questionnaire, self-care HF index (SCHFI-V6), HF knowledge test questionnaire, standard12-Item Short-Form Survey (SF-12V2), and Medical Outcome Social Support Survey-Chinese version (MOS-SSS-C). Type D personality scale-14(DS-14) was used to select patients who performed as type D personality. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, non-parameter test, and multiple liner regression were used to analyze the data.Results:(1)1.6%and3.9%of HF patients performed adequate self-care maintenance and self-care management behaviors, while12.6%for adequate self-care confidence. For self-care maintenance behaviors, patients performed good adherence to medication, while poor adherence to weighing regularly. For self-care management behaviors, other methods which were used effectively before to control the symptoms of HF was performed most, while80.3%of patients would not take the action of reducing intake of sodium. For self-care confidence, patients showed more confidence for following doctors’advice and less confidence for taking measures to control HF symptoms.(2) Among HF patients with type D personality, all the patients performed inadequate self-care maintenance behaviors,2.4%and7.1%for adequate self-care management behaviors and self-care confidence. Comparing with non-type D personality patients, patients with type D personality performed a significant lower level of self-care behaviors on both self-care maintenance and self-care management (P<0.05). Results of multiple liner regression showed that type D personality entered the self-care maintenance equation rather than self-care management equation.(3) Results of multiple liner regression showed that self-care confidence, HF knowledge level and type D personality could affect self-care maintenance behaviors; HF knowledge level, self-care confidence, time of diagnosed with HF could affect self-care management behaviors.Conclusions:(1) HF patients performed inadequate self-care behaviors, patients with type D personality in particular.(2) Type D personality could affect self-care behaviors negatively, and predict the inadequate self-care maintenance behaviors. While, type D personality was not the predictor of self-care management behaviors.(3) Self-care confidence, HF knowledge level, type D personality could influence HF self-care maintenance behaviors, while HF knowledge level, self-care confidence, time of diagnosed with HF could influence self-care management behaviors among HF patients after controlling other variables.