Self-efficacy in patients with clinical manifestations of vascular diseases

Patients with established cardiovascular disease are at high risk of developing new vascular events or death. This risk can be reduced by lifelong treatment of risk factors and by permanent changes in lifestyle. Self-efficacy is important for achieving behavior change by self-management. The self-efficacy of different vascular risk factors subgroups in patients with clinical manifestations of atherosclerotic vascular diseases was investigated.

From January 2001 to September 2003, 192 patients with recently established clinically manifest atherosclerotic disease with > or = 2 modifiable vascular risk factors were selected for the study. The mean self-efficacy scores were calculated for vascular risk factors (age, sex, vascular disease, weight, diabetes mellitus, smoking behavior, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and hyperhomocysteinemia).

Diabetes, overweight, and smoking, but none of the other risk factors, were significantly associated with the level of self-efficacy in these patients.

Patients with vascular diseases appear to have high levels of self-efficacy regarding medication use, exercise, and controlling weight. In patients with diabetes, overweight, and in smokers, self-efficacy levels were lower.

In nursing care and research on developing self-efficacy based interventions, lower self-efficacy levels can be taken into account for specific vascular patient groups.