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The influence of gender and race on heart failure self-care
Lucinda J Graven1, Laurie Abbott1, Sabrina L Dickey1
1Florida State University College of Nursing, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Insights
Gender and race impact heart failure (HF) self-care. While Caucasians showed better maintenance and males higher confidence, non-Caucasians reported better management. Further research is needed for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Health Disparities
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) self-care is crucial for patient outcomes.
- Understanding demographic influences like gender and race on HF self-care is essential for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gender and racial disparities in heart failure self-care processes.
- To determine if gender and race predict self-care maintenance, management, and confidence in HF patients.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of baseline data from 107 heart failure patients.
- Utilized the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index to assess self-care maintenance, management, and confidence.
- Employed descriptive statistics, univariate analyses, and multiple linear regression to examine demographic predictors.
Main Results:
- Caucasians reported higher self-care maintenance (p=0.042), while non-Caucasians reported better self-care management (p=0.003).
- Males exhibited significantly higher self-care confidence than females (p=0.017).
- Caucasian race predicted worse self-care management (β=-11.188; p=0.006), and male gender predicted higher self-care confidence (β=7.592; p=0.010).
Conclusions:
- Gender and race appear to influence specific aspects of heart failure self-care.
- Self-care maintenance was not significantly predicted by gender or race.
- Further research is warranted to identify individual factors for improved HF self-care education and interventions.
Objectives:
To explore gender and racial differences in heart failure (HF) self-care processes and examine whether gender and race predict HF self-care.
Methods:
A secondary analysis of baseline data (n = 107) from a longitudinal HF study (54.2% males; 56% non-Caucasians) was conducted. The self-care of heart failure index was used to measure self-care maintenance, management, and confidence. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses examined gender and racial differences in HF self-care outcomes. Multiple linear regression examined whether gender and race predicted HF self-care maintenance, management, and confidence.
Results:
Univariate analyses indicated that Caucasians reported significantly better self-care maintenance (p = 0.042), while non-Caucasians reported significantly better self-care management (p = 0.003). Males had significantly higher self-care confidence scores versus women (p = 0.017). Multiple regression analysis indicated Caucasian race predicted significantly worse self-care management (β = -11.188; p = 0.006) versus non-Caucasian, while male gender predicted significantly higher self-care confidence scores (β = 7.592; p = 0.010) versus female gender. Gender nor race significantly predicted self-care maintenance.
Discussion:
Although gender and race may influence HF self-care, other factors may be more important. More research is needed to identify individual factors that contribute to HF self-care to improve education and intervention.
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