Table 2.
Impacts of the program on heart failure self-care behavior
| Heart failure self-care behavior | Heart failure self-care scores
|
Changes of scores from baseline
|
A group-by-time interaction
|
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At baseline
|
At 1 month
|
At 6 months
|
||||||||
| Program (n=14) |
Usual care (n=14) |
P-value* | Program (n=13) |
Usual care (n=9) |
P-value* | Program (n=8) |
Usual care (n=8) |
P-value* | P-value*** | |
| 1 I weigh myself every day | 2.3±1.6 | 3.1±1.6 | 0.21 | −1.1±0.4** | −1.7±0.7 | 0.41 | −0.3±0.4 | −0.6±0.5 | 0.74 | 0.86 |
| 2 If I am short of breath, I take it easy | 2.2±1.2 | 2.0±1.1 | 0.63 | −0.2±0.5 | −0.2±0.6 | 0.93 | −0.1±0.3 | −0.2±0.7 | 0.88 | 0.92 |
| 3 If my shortness of breath increases, I contact a hospital, my doctor, or nurse | 3.1±1.6 | 3.4±1.8 | 0.66 | 0.2±0.5 | −1.3±0.6 | 0.11 | −0.6±0.8 | −0.6±0.9 | 1.00 | 0.53 |
| 4 If my feet/legs become more swollen than usual, I contact a hospital, my doctor, or nurse | 3.8±1.3 | 3.9±1.4 | 0.89 | −0.2±0.5 | −1.1±0.8 | 0.28 | −0.8±0.5 | 0.0±0.7 | 0.38 | 0.29 |
| 5 If I gain 2 kg in 1 week, I contact a hospital, my doctor, or nurse | 4.1±1.0 | 4.1±1.5 | 0.88 | −1.0±0.7 | −1.1±0.6 | 0.86 | −1.7±0.6 | −0.6±0.8 | 0.28 | 0.31 |
| 6 I limit the amount of fluids I drink (not more than 1–1.5 L/day) | 3.2±1.7 | 3.2±1.8 | 1.00 | −1.1±0.5 | −1.4±0.7 | 0.72 | −0.9±0.5 | −1.7±0.6 | 0.33 | 0.96 |
| 7 I take a rest during the day | 2.8±1.4 | 2.8±1.8 | 1.00 | −0.5±0.4 | −0.8±0.7 | 0.69 | −0.2±0.4 | −1.1±0.7 | 0.25 | 0.39 |
| 8 If I experience increased fatigue, I contact a hospital, my doctor, or nurse | 3.8±1.3 | 3.7±1.6 | 0.90 | −0.1±0.5 | 0.1±0.7 | 0.80 | −0.6±0.5 | 0.0±0.7 | 0.51 | 0.37 |
| 9 I eat a low-salt diet | 3.2±1.3 | 3.2±1.4 | 1.00 | −1.5±0.4** | −1.1±0.7 | 0.63 | −1.9±0.5** | −1.3±0.7 | 0.53 | 0.75 |
| 10 I take my medication as prescribed | 1.2±0.6 | 1.0 | 0.19 | −0.2±0.2 | 0.0 | 0.20 | −0.2±0.2 | 0.0 | 0.35 | 0.29 |
| 11 I get a flu shot every year | 3.4±2.0 | 3.6±2.0 | 0.78 | 0.2±0.4 | −0.2±0.2 | 0.43 | 0.1±0.8 | −0.5±0.5 | 0.28 | 0.42 |
| 12 I exercise regularly | 3.1±1.3 | 2.7±1.6 | 0.53 | −0.5±0.2 | −0.4±0.5 | 0.87 | −0.7±0.3 | −0.8±0.6 | 0.88 | 0.79 |
Notes: Higher score indicates poorer self-care behavior. The response to each item was scored between 1 (I completely agree) and 5 (I don’t agree at all). Values are mean ± SD at baseline and mean ± SEM in changes of scores from baseline (a negative number indicates that the self-care behavior was improved).
*
Unpaired t-test (program vs usual care);
**
P<0.05 by Wilcoxon signed-rank test (vs baseline);
***
P-values by linear mixed model.
Abbreviations: SEM, standard errors of the mean; SD, standard deviation.