Effectiveness of self-care program on the quality of life in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing cardiac rehabilitation: A Randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a life-threatening condition that causes physical and psychological disorders and decreases patients' quality of life (QoL). Performing proper educational self-care program may lead to higher QoL in these patients. This study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of a self-care educational program on QoL in patients with CAD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This semi-experimental study was performed on 60 patients with CAD referred to the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) center of Vali Asr hospital in Qom, Iran, in 2018-2019. Patients were divided into control and intervention groups by randomized sampling. The self-care educational program was provided through lectures and booklet. Data collection was done using the "demographic and clinical data questionnaire," and "Seattle Angina questionnaire." Questionnaires were completed in both groups, before and at least 1 month after education. Analysis of the obtained data was performed using SPSS software (version 25), central indexes, Mann-Whitney test, and Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between the two groups for demographics characteristics and quality of life before the intervention. Before the self-care program, the mean score of the QoL in the intervention and control group were 56.14 +/- 9.75 and 58.46 +/- 11.71, respectively. After that, the mean score of the QoL in the intervention and control group were 59.25 +/- 10.56 and 59.7 +/- 13.33, respectively. The statistical analysis showed significant differences in the mean scores of QoL in the intervention group before and after the intervention (P < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were seen in the control group before and after the study (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The self-care educational program improved the QoL in patients with CAD. Therefore, lectures and educational booklets should be considered by CR nurses.