Predictors of Better Self-Care in Patients with Heart Failure after Six Months of Follow-Up Home Visits

This study aimed to examine the predictors of better self-care behavior in patients with heart failure (HF) in a home visiting program. This is a longitudinal study nested in a randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN01213862) in which the home-based educational intervention consisted of a six-month followup that included four home visits by a nurse, interspersed with four telephone calls. The self-care score was measured at baseline and at six months using the Brazilian version of the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale. The associations included eight variables: age, sex, schooling, having received the intervention, social support, income, comorbidities, and symptom severity. A simple linear regression model was developed using significant variables ( ), followed by a multivariate model to determine the predictors of better self-care. One hundred eighty-eight patients completed the study. A better self-care behavior was associated with patients who received intervention ( ), had more years of schooling ( ), and had more comorbidities ( ). Having received the intervention ( ) and having a greater number of comorbidities ( ) were predictors of better self-care. In the multivariate regression model, being in the intervention group and having more comorbidities were a predictor of better self-care.