Frailty Affects Self-Care Behavior in Congestive Heart Failure

To explore the association between frailty and self-care in older adults with congestive heart failure and analyze their influencing factors. The cross-sectional study was conducted at the department of cardiology of a hospital in China from March 2018 to November 2018. A total of 165 participants were recruited. Frailty and self-care were measured by the Tilburg Frailty Indicator, and the Self-care of Heart Failure Index (V6). The physical, psychological, and social frailty exerted a significant negative association with self-care. Exercise, income, comorbidities, and times of congestive heart failure-related hospitalizations were independent risk factors for frailty; surgical treatment, comorbidities, and income were independent risk factors for self-care. These findings help to fill the need for new approaches to identify the high risk of frailty individuals in the acute care setting for targeted intervention and tailored transitions in care to promote optimal patient quality care and biopsychosocial well-being.