Using self-efficacy to increase physical activity in patients with heart failure.

: Increasing self-efficacy is not a state that develops quickly. It is unrealistic to expect that the factors contributing to illness and disability will be modified easily. The home care nurse can positively influence self-efficacy expectations in the heart failure population by creating a supportive environment to perform physical activities (performance mastery), assisting with encouragement and support (verbal persuasion), providing anticipatory guidance and sharing how others perform (vicarious experience), and providing a realistic assessment of a person's abilities (physiologic state). By enhancing self-efficacy, the home care nurse can increase physical activity levels in this population, leading to decreased symptomatology and improved quality of life.