Less Social Isolation Linked to Better Self-Care in Heart Failure Patients: Study
Patients with heart failure (HF) who are less socially isolated demonstrate significantly better self-care behaviors, according to a new study, while loneliness alone appears to have no measurable impact on self-care engagement.
The study, published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing by Wolters Kluwer Health is a secondary analysis of the GEtting iNTo Light Exercise for HF randomized controlled trial, the cross-sectional study evaluated 49 patients with HF participating in a 6-month, home-based group exercise intervention. The research aimed to assess whether social isolation or loneliness could predict adherence to four domains of HF self-care: maintenance, monitoring, management, and confidence.
Validated tools were used to assess each domain:
- The 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale measured social isolation,
- The PROMIS Social Isolation survey assessed loneliness,
- HF self-care was evaluated using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index, and
- Depression was measured via the PROMIS Depression survey.
After adjusting for depression and intervention grouping, lower social isolation scores significantly predicted better self-care in three key areas:
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