Effect of the Orem Self Care Model-based Educational-Supportive Intervention on the Anxiety of Primigravidae

Aims: The health of mother and fetus might be affected by anxiety during pregnancy. Training interventions can prevent the anxiety disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the supportive-educational intervention based on Orem self-care model on the anxiety of primigravidae.
In the single-blind clinical trial study, sixty 28- to 34-week pregnant women in their first pregnancy, referred to the health centers of Mashhad, were studied in 2015. The subjects, selected via purposeful cluster sampling method, were randomly divided into two 30-person groups including experimental and control groups. Data was collected by demographic and pregnancy questionnaires and Spielberger anxiety scale. Four 60-minute supportive-educational program sessions were conducted based on Orem self-care model in experimental group. The manifest anxiety was measured in both groups at the beginning of the conduction of the intervention and one week after the end of the intervention. Data was analyzed by SPSS 18 software using Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, independent T, and paired T tests.
Findings: Before the intervention, the mean scores of manifest anxiety in the groups were not significantly different (p=0.793). Nevertheless, after the intervention, the scores were significantly different (p=0.0001). In addition, the mean scores of manifest anxiety were significantly different before and after the intervention in experimental group (p=0.006). However, the difference was not significant in control group (p=0.086).
Supportive-educational intervention based on Orem self-care model reduces anxiety in 3-month primigravidae.