The relationship between frailty level and self-care behaviors in elderly coronary heart patients

Background and Aim: Coronary heart disease is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide, particularly among the elderly. To determine treatment and care goals for elderly patients with coronary heart disease, it is important to understand the factors that lead to frailty and loss of self-care, so that healthcare professionals can provide personalised care recommendations. This study was conducted to determine the level of frailty and self-care behaviours in elderly patients with coronary heart disease and to examine the relationship between them. Material and Methods: This descriptive and exploratory study was conducted in the cardiology clinic of a university hospital between 15/06/2023 and 15/01/2024, involving 138 patients hospitalised with a diagnosis of coronary heart disease. Data were collected using the "Patient Information Form", the "Edmonton Frailty Scale" and the "Coronary Heart Disease Self-Care Inventory". Results: The mean age of the patients participating in the study was 74.07 ± 8.60 years, with 61.6% being male. It was found that more than half of the patients were frail to some degree, and that their self-care behaviours were moderate. It was determined that women, patients with low levels of education and income, a sedentary lifestyle, an additional chronic disease, and patients who had been hospitalised repeatedly in the last year were more frail (p<0.05). Self-care behaviours were found to differ significantly according to marital status, education level, employment status, income level, lifestyle, recurrent hospitalisation in the last year, regular medication use and frailty category (p<0.05).Additionally, it was determined that self-care behaviours decreased as frailty increased, and that as age increased, frailty increased and some self-care behaviours decreased (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study found that patients were frail to varying degrees, with moderate self-care behaviours. Frailty and self-care behaviours differed according to descriptive and disease-related characteristics, with self-care behaviours decreasing as frailty levels increased. In line with these findings, health education and supportive care interventions should be planned to reduce frailty levels and improve the self-care behaviours of elderly patients with coronary heart disease, taking their individual characteristics into account.