Structural equation model testing the situation-specific theory of heart failure self-care

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Nursing
• Health Psychology
• Self-Care Management

Background:

• The situation-specific theory of heart failure self-care by Riegel and Dickson is a key framework for understanding patient self-care processes.
• This theory has not been previously tested using structural equation modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically test the situation-specific theory of heart failure self-care using structural equation modeling.
• To identify potential new relationships within the heart failure self-care process.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study involving 417 heart failure patients across 21 Italian cardiovascular centers.
• Data collected via sociodemographic questionnaires, chart abstraction, and the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index v.6.2.

Main Results:

• Structural equation modeling supported key propositions of the theory, including positive relationships between symptom monitoring, treatment adherence, and implementation.
• Three novel relationships were identified: symptom monitoring directly impacts treatment implementation and evaluation, and symptom recognition/evaluation directly impacts treatment evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The findings provide empirical support for the situation-specific theory of heart failure self-care.
• The study validates the theory's utility in research and clinical practice for heart failure self-care.
• The identified relationships offer a more comprehensive understanding of heart failure self-care processes.