Effects of a self-care program on quality of life of cirrhotic patients referring to Tehran Hepatitis Center

Background: Chronic liver disease especially liver cirrhosis is one of the medical problems that substantially reduces the quality of life of its victims. Because of the chronic and irreversible nature of the disease, it needs self-care programs to be developed according to client's needs and to maintain their independence and sense of well-being. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a self-care educational program on Quality of Life (QoL) of a sample of Iranian cirrhotic patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 44 cirrhotic patients in Tehran Hepatitis Center. Longitudinal case registry and random allocation technique were used to divide the sample into experimental (n = 21) and control (n = 23) groups. Chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ) was used for measuring the quality of life. The experimental group was given a questionnaire to assess their educational needs. A self-care educational program was conducted and the patients were followed for 3 months. Then the quality of life of both groups was compared using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: The experimental and control groups were the same concerning the effective factors on the quality of life, such as age, sex, etc (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between QOL mean score of both groups before the intervention, however the QoL significantly improved in the experimental group after the intervention (P= 0.001), while the QoL decreased in control group. Conclusion: The result of the present study confirmed the positive effects of the educational and self care programs on the QoL of cirrhotic patients. Extensive educational and self-care programs along with long-term follow up such as the program conducted in this study are suggested. © 2005 Zandi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.