Factors affecting self-care in elderly patients with hypertension in Korea

The objective of this study was to test nine variables which derived from the model of self-care in chronic illness and previous studies on elderly patients with hypertension. A descriptive research design was employed in this study. Totally, 306 elderly patients diagnosed with hypertension were selected from three public health centres for the study. The stepwise regression analysis was conducted by analysing predictors of self-care in elderly patients with hypertension. Statistical analyses, including correlation analysis, t-test and analysis of variance tests were conducted for seven variables. The results indicated that only four variables were significant, and the model explained 57% of the variance in self-care. Among these predictors, empowerment was the strongest predictor, followed by social support, depression and perceived severity. These findings demonstrate the significance of assessing predictors of self-care behaviour when examining patients' health behaviours and planning intervention strategies.