Correlation Between Affective Status and Self-care Behaviors in Patients with Heart Failure

Background: Poor self-care in patients with Heart Failure (HF) is directly associated with the patient’s general health getting deteriorated and hospitalized. Objectives: One of the factors influencing compliance with self-care behaviors is mood status. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between affective status with self-care behaviors in patients with HF. Materials & Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 372 HF outpatients referring to a specialized heart clinic have been included using convenient sampling method. Study tools had 4 parts including demographic and social factors, the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviors scale, and positive and negative affect scales. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate linear regression model. Results: The multivariate model adjusted for patient’s education, suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure duration showed that positive affects (β=0.113, Standard Error (SE) =0.056, P=0.046) and negative affect (β=0.341, SE=0.053, P<0.001) were significantly related to self-care behaviors, but anhedonia did not have any significant relation with self-care behaviors (β= -0.105, SE=0.097, P=0.280). The separate models accounted for 8 to 11% of the variance in the self-care behaviors. Conclusion: The result of current study indicates that patients’ mood statue including positive and negative affect are significant contributors of self-care behaviors. So, it is recommended that in addition to the patient’s physical condition, the rehabilitation program of the heart failure patients should incorporate their psychological and mental status