Bakgrund: Hjärtsvikt är en diagnos som ökar i takt med att populationen i världen blir äldre. Patienter med hjärtsvikt kan via egenvård uppnå symtomlindring. Kommunikationen från sjukvården kring hur patienten ska uppnå en god egenvård är bristfällig.  Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva upplevelser av egenvård vid hjärtsvikt för vuxna patienter inom öppenvården. Metod: En kvalitativ litteraturöversikt med en induktiv ansats.  Resultat: I resultatet framkom fyra huvudkategorier, “Förståelse och kunskap kring egenvård”, “Behov av stöd för att utföra egenvård”, “Behov av att känna sig delaktig” och “Begränsningar i det vardagliga livet” med tillhörande subkategorier.  Slutsats: För att uppnå en god egenvård krävdes stöd från hälso-sjukvården samt anhöriga. Patienten behövde få känna sig delaktig i egenvården. Informationen kring egenvård från sjukvården ansågs bristande. / Background: Heart failure is a diagnosis that increases as the world's population ages. Patients with heart failure can achieve symptom relief through self-care. Communication from the healthcare system regarding how the patient should achieve good self-care is deficient.  Aim: The aim was to describe experiences of self-care in heart failure for adult patients in outpatient care.  Method: A qualitative literature review with an inductive approach.  Results: The result was four main categories, "Understanding and knowledge of self-care", “Need for support to carry out self-care", "Need to feel involved" and "Limitations in everyday life" with associated subheadings.  Conclusion: In order to achieve good self-care, support from health care and relatives was required. The patient needed to feel involved in self-care. Information about self-care from the healthcare system was considered insufficient.

A needs assessment during 2000 guided the design of a buddy system in Botswana. Implementation of this care and support system for and by 39 HIV+ve female buddy-client pairs started in 2002. During April and November 2002, levels of disclosure, self-care, support and quality of life of buddy-client pairs and the controls (n = 38) were compared. Orem's self-care theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Cohen and Syme's conceptualisation of social support formed the theoretical framework. By November 2002, clients' disclosure levels, self-care for TB, and antiretroviral therapy adherence had improved. Higher income, higher education and older age predicted higher levels of self-care for antiretroviral therapy. The social support survey reported satisfaction with types of support available in November 2002 (N = 112). Clients' scores for self-care for TB, antiretroviral therapy and social support improved more than those of controls over the study period. The personal resource questionnaire measured perceptions of support: buddies' scores increased more than those of clients. Women on antiretroviral therapy completed the adherence attitudes inventory in April and November 2002 and reported a downward trend in adherence. Findings of the quality of life (SF 36) instrument showed that during the six-month study period, physical and mental health component summary scores improved but remained low (N = 112). During 2003 Botswana's community-based buddy-support programme was adopted by four other countries in Southern Africa in an attempt to enhance the quality of life of HIV+ve women in these countries. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

A needs assessment during 2000 guided the design of a buddy system in Botswana. Implementation of this care and support system for and by 39 HIV+ve female buddy-client pairs started in 2002. During April and November 2002, levels of disclosure, self-care, support and quality of life of buddy-client pairs and the controls (n = 38) were compared. Orem's self-care theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Cohen and Syme's conceptualisation of social support formed the theoretical framework. By November 2002, clients' disclosure levels, self-care for TB, and antiretroviral therapy adherence had improved. Higher income, higher education and older age predicted higher levels of self-care for antiretroviral therapy. The social support survey reported satisfaction with types of support available in November 2002 (N = 112). Clients' scores for self-care for TB, antiretroviral therapy and social support improved more than those of controls over the study period. The personal resource questionnaire measured perceptions of support: buddies' scores increased more than those of clients. Women on antiretroviral therapy completed the adherence attitudes inventory in April and November 2002 and reported a downward trend in adherence. Findings of the quality of life (SF 36) instrument showed that during the six-month study period, physical and mental health component summary scores improved but remained low (N = 112). During 2003 Botswana's community-based buddy-support programme was adopted by four other countries in Southern Africa in an attempt to enhance the quality of life of HIV+ve women in these countries. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)