0156

SELF-CARE BEHAVIOR OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN WITH HEART DISEASES

Fan Ling,

Pediatric Department, Second Teaching Hospital, China Medical University, Liaoning, China

 

Objective: This descriptive study was conducted to identify the level of self-care behaviors of school-age children with heart diseases.

Methods: Orem's self-care theory was used as conceptual framework. A purposive sampling method was used to select 82 school-age children with heart diseases admitted at least once in three hospitals and attending Out-patient Department of three hospitals in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China. Medical Record Form, Demographic Form, and Self-care Behaviors of School-age Children with Heart Diseases Questionnaire (SBSCHDQ) were used to collect data. Panel of experts tested the validity of the instruments and Content Validity Index was .83. The reliability of the instrument was tested from which the Cronbach's Alpha was .74. Descriptive statistics in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and range were used to analyze the data.

Results: 1.The majority of the school-age children with heart diseases have moderate level of self-care behaviors. 2. The majority of subjects have moderate level of self-care behaviors in universal, developmental, and health deviation dimensions. 3. The school-age children with heart diseases

whose heart function are in class I have high level of self-care behaviors, and the school-age children whose heart function are in class II and III have moderate level of self-care behaviors. Moreover, the subjects whose heart function are in class III have lower level of self-care behaviors than those whose heart function are in class II.

Conclusion: The findings of this study provide useful information for nurses to understand self-care behaviors of school-age children with heart diseases. The findings also assist nurses to perform nursing interventions and provide proper discharge plan to this population. Replications of this study in a large sample size and different settings are recommended.