| Author: | Kan, Wai-yuen Anthea |
| Title: | Gender difference in symptoms experiences and self-care behavior of older patients with heart failure |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2005 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Heart failure -- Nursing Heart -- Diseases -- Patients -- Sex differences Self-care, Health -- Sex differences |
| Department: | School of Nursing |
| Pages: | 164 p. : ill. ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Heart failure was a significant chronic illness that brought with increasing public health burden. Although literatures described surrounding issues of epidemiology, pathophysiology, and therapy for heart failure patients, little was known about symptoms experiences especially the major symptoms complaints as well as somatic symptoms. These symptoms complaints in this devastating chronic illness induced problems of compliance and self-care and finally induced frequent readmissions. Besides, heart failure prevalence and mortality was significantly different between male and female patients. Gender might have prominent effect on heart failure patient's daily functional and emotional status and thus causing differences in self-care behavior and epidemiological presentation. This research was a comparative descriptive study and was designed to study gender difference in symptoms experiences and self-care behaviors of older patients with heart failure. The functional and emotional status, as independent variables, were also examined in the comparison. All hospitalized heart failure patients aged > 65 who met the inclusion criteria in a Hong Kong regional hospital medical unit were recruited from mid May to mid August 2004. The researcher used a Data Form on collecting information from medical records and investigation results. A questionnaire which included a modified and translated Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS), Chinese Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-SF), Chinese (Hong Kong) version of Medical outcomes study short form-36 (SF-36) and a self-developed 8 self-care behaviors items were verbally administered to each elderly heart failure subjects. The researcher transferred data into scores and performed statistical analysis by two-tailed t-test to evaluate the gender difference in variables as well as Pearson Product-Moment Correlation test to evaluate the correlation between all variables. A series of regression analyses and analysis of covariance (ANCOVAs) to investigate emotional status and functional status as with the most predictive power with regard to symptoms experiences and self-care behavior was also performed. The results showed that heart failure female elderly patients were older, having higher mortality, much bordered by symptoms, more depressed and poorer in functional status than male heart failure elderly patients. Gender difference was proved in symptoms experiences, emotional status and majority of functional concepts but not in self-care behaviors. Symptoms experiences associated with depression score and functional status but not associated to self-care behavior. For self-care behavior, it was only slightly correlating to depression score and role functioning concepts in SF-36 significantly. Vitality and mental health concepts played a mediating role with regard to gender difference in symptoms experiences in older heart failure patients. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b17938727.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 4.77 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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