THE EFFECT OF THE SELF-EFFICACY ENHANCEMENT FOR CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAM ON FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN PERSONS WITH MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Self-efficacy Enhancement for Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (SECR Program) on the functional status of persons with myocardial infarction (MI). This study used a two-group randomized controlled trial with a pretest/posttest design. Sixty-six persons with MI receiving medical therapy, were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group by using blocked randomization, consisting of 33 participants in each group. The participants in the experimental group participated in the SECR Program and received the usual care during 4 weeks after admission, while those in the control group received the usual care. The SECR Program was designed to enhance self-efficacy for cardiac rehabilitation with support from family members. The program consisted of three components: 1) motivation-building activities in increasing the practices of cardiac rehabilitation; 2) skill training for cardiac rehabilitation; and 3) monitoring of the practices of cardiac rehabilitation. The program activities were conducted during hospitalization and continued for 4 weeks after discharge. Functional status was assessed with the Thai version of the Duke Activity Status Index at baseline and 4 weeks after discharge. An independent t-test and a paired t-test were used for data analysis. The findings revealed that after participating in the program, the participants in the experimental group had better functional status than those in the control group (p < .001). In addition, functional status in the experimental group significantly improved (p < .001). These findings indicate that the SECR Program is an effective nursing intervention in promoting the functional status of persons with MI.