Assessing the Impact of Family-Centered Empowerment Model on Self-Care of Patients With Prosthetic Heart Valves

A heart valve disease is an important cardiovascular disease. Patients need long-term care after heart valve replacement, while promoting such patients’ self-care is very important. In this study, the impacts of family-centered empowerment model on self-care of patients with prosthetic heart valves were assessed.
This clinical controlled study was done at Tehran armed forces hospitals in 2015. After transferring patients from the intensive care unit (ICU), samples of the study and active members of their family were selected through the convenient method. Family-centered empowerment model was performed for the experimental group in four steps: perceived threat, self-efficacy, self-esteem and evaluation through group discussion, group problem solving, educational participation (in three to five sessions) and providing educational cards and manual for the patients and the active members of their family. The control group received routine care. Patients’ self-care was assessed before and after the intervention and also one and half month after the intervention. There was no intervention for the control group. Data analysis was done through descriptive and inferential statistical tests via the SPSS 23 software.
Both groups were similar before the intervention in terms of demographic variables. The average self-care scores in the experimental and control groups in terms of knowledge was respectively 49.42 ± 5.77 and 50.58 ± 9.09, in the emotional aspect: 17.53 ± 3.43 and 17.26 ± 3.29 and in the functional aspect: 51.58 ± 6.03 and 53.84 ± 8.68; no significant difference was observed between the two groups, yet after the intervention, the average self-care scores in the experimental and control groups in terms of knowledge was, respectively, 60.11 ± 2.97 and 51.95 ± 7.38, in the emotional aspect, 22.32 ± 3.001 and 18.32 ± 5.513 and in the functional aspect, and 63.63 ± 5.11 and 53.11 ± 7.45 with a significant increase was observed for the self-care scores (P = 0.05). Self-care ability after one and half month was not only stable, yet had also increased.
Based on the findings of this study, performing family-centered empowerment model improves self-care in patients with prosthetic heart valve. It seems that performing this model has a positive impact on chronic diseases therefore it is recommended to use this model for these patients at a broader level.