[ Effectiveness of patient education and home-based follow up on knowledge and health behaviors in patients with myocardial infarction]

ABSTRACT

Patient education is a basic part of health care especially in chronic heart diseases in hospital and community. The present research intended to determine the effect of patient education and home-based follow up on knowledge and health behaviors in patients with myocardial Infarction referred to Modares health care facility in Kashmar. This is a quasi-experimental design, with two randomly selected groups. The experiment [n=18] and the control [n=20] group, were undergone a pre and post test. The health education program was carried out in 4 continuous sessions with different topics on cardiac events, diet, medication, coronary risk factors and exercise. The patients were given an instructional booklet containing the above mentioned information and were followed up at home for 3 times during 3 months. Data were gathered by knowledge measurement questionnaire and home-based follow up check list using interview and observation at the beginning of the study, during follow up, as well as at the end. The instructional booklet was given to the control group patients at the end of the study. The research findings indicated an improvement of knowledge in the intervention group patients [p=0.0001]. The comparison of mean scores between groups showed an improvement in knowledge and behavior as increase in the frequency [P=0.02], time of taking a walk [p=0.001], physical symptoms improvement during walking [P=0.03], recognition and avoiding from cardiac risk factors [p=0.001], following of diet [P=0.003], and medication regimen [p=0.001], reduction in need to extra visit by physician [P=0.001], as well as need to extra emotional support [P=0.000] in the intervention group. Health education to patients and internalizing it with reiterating, supervising, and managing by nurses in a familiar place as home can play as an effective factor in patients performance improvement, as well as community health development. It clarifies the community oriented role of nurses as a case manager in health-team