EFFECT OF THE FAMILY-CENTERED EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH PERMANENT CARDIAC PACEMAKER

Implanting a permanent pacemaker (inserting an electronic device into the heart) is an important event in a patientschr('39') life that affects their body image and impairs their socio-psychological adaptation and quality of life. Moreover, it can cause concern in their families due to the lack of knowledge about the disease, patientchr('39')s needs, and patient care. Accordingly, the provision of effective patient care would be affected, so that as a vicious cycle, this can lead to poor quality of life in these patients. Considering these concerns, it is necessary to examine the educational needs and provide educational support for the patients and their families. The present study aimed to determine the effect of family-centered educational support on the quality of life in patients with permanent cardiac pacemaker who were referred to Seyed-al-Shohada Hospital in 2019-2020.

In this quasi-experimental study, a total of 80 patients with permanent cardiac pacemaker were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention and control. The intervention group received family-centered educational-supportive interventions in two main steps. The control group received only routine training. Data were collected using a demographic characteristic questionnaire and the MacNew Heart Disease Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire, and entered into SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA). Data were analyzed using the χ2 test, studentchr('39')s t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA. A p-value of less than 0.05 was anticipated for rejecting the null hypothesis.

The results of repeated measures ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference in the mean score of quality of life and its dimensions (physical, emotional and social performance) between the intervention and the control group during five measurements (P ≤0.0001). Based on the comparison of the mean scores between the two groups, it was found that the mean score of quality of life and its dimensions increased in the intervention group during the measurement intervals which has led to the significance of these differences between the two groups.

Based on the results of the present study, it is concluded that the implementation of family-centered educational support is effective in improving the quality of life in patients with permanent cardiac pacemaker.