Examining the underlying processes of different dimensions of self-care behavior among persons with heart failure

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to compare how potential predictors differentially contribute to the different dimensions of self-care in persons with heart failure. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a sample (N = 252) in this study. The data were collected from three major referral hospitals in Jordan. Data analysis was performed using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The results showed that around 89% of our sample had insufficiency in at least one dimension of self-care. The initial regression models showed that different combinations of predictors were significantly associated with different dimensions of self-care. These models were also different in terms of the variance explained and the coefficients of the significant predictors. After the follow-up analysis of the best fit models for these dimensions, these differences were maintained. CONCLUSION: Despite the similarities in the proposed variables predicting different self-care dimensions, their differences may suggest variations in the underlying processes controlling different self-care dimensions. The current study showed that seven out of the nine proposed variables predicted different dimensions of self-care either in the initial or best-fit models.