The Effect of Self Management Interventions on Medication Adherence and Life Style in Cardiovascular Patients

Introduction & Cardiovascular diseasehas been themost commoncause of deathandmajorcauseofdisabilityinmost countriesand itseems that modifying lifestyle and adhering to medication regimen is essential in these patients. The purpose ofthis studywastoassess the impactof self managementinterventionsonlifestylemodificationandmedicationadherenceincardiovascular patients. This study was a quasi-experimental research and 86 patients with cardiovascular disease participated in the study. The samples were selected by convenience sampling in two-stage before and 6 months after the intervention and randomly were held in two groups of case and control. The case group received self management interventions related to healthy lifestyle and long-term medication adherence while the control group received routine interventions of the hospital.Data collecting device was a questionnaire containing questions about demographic information, adherence to the medication regimen and lifestyle. Data was entered and analysed by descriptive statistical tests, paired samples and independent samples t- test using SPSS software version 16. Independent t- test showed that after the intervention, there was a significant difference in the mean scores of adherence to medication regimen (p<0.05) and choosing low-fat diet(p <0.05) in the control and case groups. The results of this study showed that using self-management interventions can be helpful in adhering to medicationregimen and changing lifestyle in choosing low fat diet. In patients with cardiovascular diseases whom specialists have desired long-term lifestyle changes, self management is in effective measure that increases their control over their condition.