Determining Care Dependency of Patients With Heart Failure: Analytical and Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Heart failure is a clinic syndrome, and despite improvements in survival rates, the burden of maintaining daily life remains substantial; therefore, many patients depend on support from their social environment. The aim of this study is to determine the level of care dependency among patients with heart failure. Methods: The study was conducted in the Cardiology Outpatient Clinic of a City Hospital using an analytical cross-sectional design. The study data were collected between December 2022 and May 2023 through face-to-face interviews. The "Descriptive Information Form" and the "Care Dependency Scale (CDS)" were used for data collection. The study was completed with 300 participants. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Dunn's test, and correlation analyses were performed. Results: The majority of the participants were male (66.7%), over the age of 50 years (87.3%), married (97%), literate (31.3%), housewives (29.0%), and parents (75.0%). It was determined that 83.6% of the patients were smokers, 78.3% lived in extended families, and 72.3% reported having a good economic status. In addition, 92.3% of the patients were on medication, 45.1% were using multiple medications, and 91.7% had another chronic disease. The mean care dependency score of the patients was 56.36 +/- 18.13. Care dependency levels differed significantly across all variables (p < 0.05). A weak negative correlation was found between care dependency and age (r = -0.236, p < 0.001), as well as between care dependency and the total number of medications (r = -0.437, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study found that patients with heart failure exhibit care dependency. Advanced age and the use of multiple medications were associated with increased care dependency. It is recommended that nurses assess care dependency levels in patients with heart failure and plan nursing interventions aimed at meeting patient needs and reducing dependency.

Dergi

NURSING FORUM

Yıl

2025

Cilt

2025

Sayı

1

ISSN

0029-6473

eISSN

1744-6198

DOI

10.1155/nuf/7301141

WoS UID

WOS:001613766000001