Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Introduction: Heart failure (HF) self-care behaviors are related to patient outcomes. The Common-sense Model of Self-Regulation indicates that illness perceptions and self-care self-efficacy are crucial predictors of self-care behaviors. However, research evidence is limited on these relationships.
Aims: To explore the associations among illness perceptions, self-care self-efficacy, and self-care behaviors in people with HF.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adopted. People with HF were recruited from a tertiary hospital between February and April 2023 in China. All the participants were assessed for illness perceptions, self-care self-efficacy, and self-care behaviors. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and mediation analyses. The study was reported following the STROBE checklist.
Results: A total of 164 people with HF were enrolled. Pearson analysis reported the negative correlations between the scores of illness perceptions and the scores of self-care maintenance (r=-0.344, p<0.001), symptom perception (r=-0.352, p<0.001), and self-care management (r=-0.519, p<0.001), as well as the positive associations between the scores of self-care self-efficacy and the scores of self-care maintenance (r=0.689, p<0.001), symptom perception (r=0.697, p<0.001), and self-care management (r=0.771, p<0.001). Moreover, a significant negative relationship between the scores of illness perceptions and the scores of self-care self-efficacy was observed (r=-0.527, p<0.001). Mediation analysis reported that the scores of self-care self-efficacy completely mediated the negative relationships between the scores of illness perceptions and the scores of self-care maintenance, symptom perception, and self-care management, and the mediation effect accounted for 71.4%, 72.5%, and 88.2% of the total effect, respectively.
Conclusions: Among people with HF, self-care self-efficacy completely mediated the relationships between illness perceptions and self-care behaviors. Interventions targeting improving illness perceptions and self-care self-efficacy may enhance HF self-care behaviors.