The self-care behaviour association with quality of life among Chinese ethnic with heart failure in Malaysia

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the association between self-care behaviour and quality of life among the Chinese ethnic with heart failure (HF) in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey design was conducted with 80 HF patients. The average age of participants was 61.39 years old (M = 61.39, SD = 15.88). Chinese version of Self-care Heart Failure Index version 6.2 and the World Health Organization Quality of life-BREF were utilized in this study. Pearson’s correlation and t-test were tested to run the analysis. Current findings suggested that the construct of confident to conduct self-care is significantly correlated positively with quality of life (r = .41, p<0.01). There is a significant difference in self-care management between genders [t(78) = -2.94, p=.00] and illness comorbidities [t(78) = -2.07, p=.04]. Hence, it is suggested that element of confidence is one of the important factors to be considered in future self-care interventions. Through this study, researchers and health-care providers could deduce effective interventions and education considering genders and illness comorbidities in order to improve self-care behaviours and quality of life.