The relationship between self-care behaviors and physician-patient relationship in patients with heart failure in clinics affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Abstract Background: One of the most common cardiovascular disorders in the world is heart failure. The most important factor in controlling this disease is self-care behaviors. If there is good communication and interaction between the patient and the service provider, it will ultimately help to better control the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-care behaviors and physician-patient relationship in patients with heart failure. Method: The present study is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study. A total of 200 patients were selected using the Cochran's formula with an accuracy of 0.07 and a 95% confidence interval. Systematic random sampling method is from people who have visited in advance. To collect data, demographic information questionnaires, physician-patient communication questionnaire and European Heart Failure Patient Self-Care Questionnaire (EHFSCB) are used. The data collected from the questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS software version 25. For the first and second purposes, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used, and for the third purpose, Pearson correlation and logistic regression were used to investigate the effect of different variables on the self-care dependent variable. Also, t-test was used to compare the self-care score and the relationship between physician and patient between different groups in terms of gender, place of residence and ANOVA in terms of education. Results: The total score of patients' self-care in outpatients of Tabriz clinics is average with a mean and standard deviation of 31.88± 8.66. On the other hand, there was a significant relationship between self-care score and physician gender, marital status and patients' education and between physician-patient relationship score with physician gender. Physician-patient relationship and marital status in men were predictors of self-care behaviors in patients with heart failure. Conclusions: The physician-patient relationship was significant and was able to explain self-care behaviors in patients with heart failure. Because the relationship between physician and patient is the heart of medicine and the focus of all clinical practice, and most medical diagnoses and treatment decisions are based on information obtained from medical interviews, and inappropriate communication between physician and patient causes patient distrust of physician, disobedience from the doctor's orders and incurring heavy costs for the patient and the health system, therefore, it seems necessary to take measures to improve the communication skills of physicians.