Self‐care status in children with congenital heart disease: A mixed‐method study

Background Suffering congenital heart disease leads to physical and mental disabilities in children. Children's self‐care can result in appropriate care behaviors for limiting disease‐induced problems. Given the ability of children to care for themselves, we investigated self‐care statues in children who are suffering from congenital heart disease. Method This study was conducted using a mixed‐method approach and a sequential explanatory design. A cross‐sectional study was conducted to assess self‐care status in 124 CHD children who were living in Kerman, Iran. In the qualitative phase, the researchers interviewed 13 of these children and three parents using semi‐structured in‐depth and face‐to‐face approaches. Results The mean of self‐care scores in these school‐age children was optimal (10/7 ± 2/6). In the qualitative phase, three main themes were extracted: captive to health issues physical and mental sufferings and wishing for peace of mind. Conclusion The results showed that self‐care status in these children was optimal. As the main pillar of patient education, nurses can help enhance self‐care behaviors and reduce the complications and problems induced by the disease by implementing educational and support interventions for children with CHD and their families.