Self-care agency in systemic lupus erythematosus and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study

The aim of this study was to estimate the level of self-care agency and explore its associated factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

In this cross-sectional study, all patients were from a tertiary general hospital between July and October 2016 in Southwest China. The self-care agency was assessed using the Exercise of Self-care Agency Scale. Other variables were measured by the Visual Analog Scale, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000, the physical component summary, and mental component summary of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to explore the associated factors of self-care agency.

A total of 123 patients were recruited. The mean score of Exercise of Self-care Agency Scale was 86.29. In univariate analysis, self-care agency of patients differed in regard to gender, work status, educational level, household income monthly per capita, and disease activity (P<0.05). Additionally, higher body mass index, higher level of fatigue, and worse mental health were found in patients with lower self-care agency (P<0.05). The stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that male gender (P=0.001), lower educational level (P=0.003), lower household income monthly per capita (P<0.001), and worse mental health (P<0.001) could predict lower self-care agency.

Patients with SLE had a middle level of self-care agency, suggesting that there is still much scope for improvement. The lower level of self-care agency was associated with male gender, lower educational level, lower household income monthly per capita, and worse mental health. Therefore, health care providers should develop targeted and comprehensive interventions to enhance self-care agency in patients with SLE.