Self-care status in patients with heart failure: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: To systematically review the status of self-care in patients with heart failure through the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index scale. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Following national and international databases were searched to retrieve eligible studies: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, Scientific Information Database and Magiran. The studies were screened and selected by two researchers. Data analysed through the random-effects model, and the I-2 index was used to assess heterogeneity. Stata software version 12.0 was used for analysis. The PRISMA statement was used to report systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: Of the 5,953 articles initially identified, 39 studies were included. The average score was estimated at 58.16 (CI: 54.39-61.94) for self-care maintenance, 53.11 (CI: 49.17-57.05) for self-care management and 58.66 (CI: 54.32-63.00) for self-care confidence. Despite the high heterogeneity of the studies, the results indicated that self-care practice is inadequate in all the three dimensions of self-care (maintenance, management and confidence).