Relationships between illness perception, functional status, social support, and self-care behavior among Thai people at high risk of stroke: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: People at high risk of stroke reported having difficulty performing self-care behavior. Although the literature has identified various factors related to self-care behavior in this population; however, there is a lack of studies to conclude the associated antecedents of self-care behavior, particularly in Thailand.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationships between illness perception, functional status, social support, and self-care behavior among people at high risk of stroke.

Methods: A correlational cross-sectional study design was used. One hundred and seventy people at high risk of stroke were selected from ten health-promoting hospitals in the Northeast region of Thailand using multi-stage sampling. Data were gathered using self-report questionnaires, including the brief illness perception questionnaire, functional status scale, multidimensional scale of perceived social support, and self-care behavior questionnaire, from November 2021 to February 2022. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson’s product-moment correlation.

Results: One hundred percent of the participants completed the questionnaires. The participants had a moderate level of self-care behavior (M = 64.54, SD = 7.46). Social support and functional status had medium positive significant correlations with self-care behavior among people at high risk of stroke (r = 0.460 and r = 0.304, p <0.01), respectively. In contrast, illness perception had a small negative significant correlation with self-care behavior among people at high risk of stroke (r = -0.179, p <0.05).

Conclusion: Social support, functional status, and illness perception are essential factors of self-care behavior among people at high risk of stroke. The findings shed light that nurses and other healthcare professionals should promote self-care behavior in these people by enhancing them to maintain proper functioning, positive illness-related perception, and family members' involvement. However, further study is needed to determine a causal relationship between these factors with self-care behavior.  

Declaration of Conflicting Interest

The authors declare there is no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge healthcare providers from ten public health-promoting hospitals in Nakhonratchasima province for facilitating participant recruitment. Importantly, the authors are greatly thankful to all participants in this study.

Authors’ Contributions

The first author conceptualized the research design, reviewed the literature, performed data analysis, drafted the article, and was involved in writing the manuscript. The second author performed the data collection and was involved in writing the manuscript. All authors were accountable for each study step and approved the submitted and published versions.

Data Availability

The datasets used for analysis are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.