Psychological Factors and Treatment Adherence Behavior in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Background: Chronic heart failure adversely affects 300,000 Australians. Symptom stabilization and prognosis are partially determined by patients following medical and lifestyle recommendations. Methods: To test the hypothesis that depression, anxiety, and self-efficacy are independent predictors of such adherence, 115 predominately male (70.6%) volunteers with a mean age of 63 years were recruited from a major teaching hospital in Australia. Results: Depression (Beck Depression Inventory score >10, 33.3%) failed to predict adherence. Trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory score >40, 31%) explained minimal variability regarding smoking and alcohol adherence. Self-efficacy strongly predicted adherence behavior. Conclusions: Findings will assist cardiac nurses to prepare strategies to optimize adherence and quality of life while minimizing public health costs.