Determining the Relationship Between Earthquake Trauma Level and Self-Care Behaviors in Heart Failure Patients Living in the Earthquake Region Study: A Descriptive Study

Objective: This study was conducted descriptively to determine the relationship between earthquake trauma level and self-care behaviors in heart failure (HF) patients living in an earthquake zone. Material and Methods: The study included 126 heart failure patients who applied to the cardiology clinic of Adıyaman University Training and Research Hospital between August 20 and December 27, 2023, who were not in stage 4 according to the New York Heart Association classification, were receiving outpatient treatment, and volunteered for the study. The data were collected using the ''Person Identification Form'', ''Post-Earthquake Trauma Level Determination Scale (PETLDS)'', and ''European HF Self-Care Behavior Scale-9''. In the statistical analysis of the data, number, percentage and mean, Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test result, student t-test in independent groups, one-way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U, KruskalWallis and Spearman correlation tests were used. In addition, multiple regression analysis was applied in the analysis. Results: It was determined that there was a weak positive significant relationship between the postearthquake trauma score and the Self-Care Scale score (p<0.05). It was found that as the mean post-earthquake trauma score increased, the Mean Self-Care Scale score also increased (p<0.05). As a result of the regression analysis, it was determined that earthquake-related situations had a 28.7% effect on PETLDS mean scores (R2 =0.287, p<0.001). Current residence the earthquake was found to have a positive effect on the PETLDS mean scores (B=0,290; p<0.001). Conclusion: It is recommended to provide psychosocial support to reduce the trauma levels of HF patients who survived the earthquake, to increase the self-awareness of individuals so that they can use self-care behaviors positively, and to provide training in this direction.