The role of patient activation in self‐care behaviours of Korean older adults with heart failure

AIM: This study was aimed at investigating the level of patient activation, and its association with self‐care behaviours in older people with heart failure. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional secondary data analysis was conducted. METHODS: We included a total of 182 Korean patients with heart failure who were aged ≥65 years for a cardiovascular outpatient clinic visit. Baseline characteristics, the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), health literacy, disease knowledge and self‐care behaviours were collected via a self‐administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The proportion of patient activation at Levels 1 and 2 was 22.5% and 14.3%, respectively. Highly activated patients had a high level of health literacy, disease knowledge and self‐care behaviours. After adjusting for confounding factors, we observed that patient activation was the only statiscally significant predictor of self‐care behaviours among older people with heart failure. Healthcare professionals should help patients take active roles in their self‐care through a comprehensive needs assessment including health literacy and disease knowledge.