Open AccessThe roles of health literacy and social support in improving adherence to self‐care behaviours among older adults with heart failure
Author(s) -
Jo Ahra,
Ji Seo Eun,
Son YounJung
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nursing open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.55
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2054-1058
DOI - 10.1002/nop2.599
Subject(s) - health literacy , social support , psychological intervention , medicine , gerontology , literacy , health care , descriptive statistics , psychology , self care , nursing , social psychology , statistics , mathematics , economics , economic growth , pedagogy
Aim To describe the associations between health literacy, social support and self‐care behaviours in older adults with heart failure. Design A cross‐sectional descriptive study. Methods A total of 252 older adults were recruited from a tertiary care hospital from September 2018–February 2019. Structured questionnaires and medical record reviews were used for data collection. Two steps of hierarchical regression analysis were employed to determine the predictors of self‐care behaviours. Results Health literacy ( β = 0.27, p < .001) and social support ( β = 0.32, p < .001) were significant determinants of self‐care behaviours in older adults with heart failure. Together, they explained 22% of the variance in self‐care behaviours. Conclusion Health literacy and perceived social support were positively associated with self‐care behaviours among older heart failure patients. Our findings can help health professionals develop heart failure self‐care interventions to enhance health literacy skills and social support for older adults.