Correlation between Optimistic View and General Health in Cardiac Patients

Backgroung and The relationship between optimistic view in life and health variables has been confirmed in many studies. In the majority of researches, the relationship was studied in non-clinical populations. Given the few researches in clinical groups, this study was carried out aiming at evaluating the correlation between the optimistic views and general health in a group of cardiac patients. This study was conducted as a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population comprised all cardiac patients of the Mustafa Khomeini Hospital in Tehran during 2010-2011. In this study, 110 patients as research units were selected by random sampling from the patients of Mustafa Khomeini Hospital in Tehran and research instruments were administered on them. For data collection, general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) and optimism (LOT) were used. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney test, and regression analysis. In this study, there was a correlation between optimistic view and general health (r=0.77, p<0.001), and both subscales of optimistic view had significant predictive power for general health. According to the results of this study, results showed that by increasing hope for the future, optimism and a positive attitude to events (positive thinking), and general health increased in the cardiac patients and anxiety, depression, and social dysfunction decreased.