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

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.