THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION BASED ON ENCOURAGE AUTONOMOUS SELF-ENRICHMENT (EASE) PROGRAM ON MEDICATION ADHERENCE OF THE PATIENTS WITH STROKE

Stroke is the second cause of disability and the third cause of death after heart diseases and cancers, which leads to major changes in lifestyle of the patients. The complications of this disease reduce self-care behaviors. Based on the evidence, implementing programs and interventions such as self-management training can be helpful. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effects of education based on Encourage Autonomous Self-Enrichment (EASE) programs on medication compliance of stroke survivors in 2021.

This study was an interventional study (quasi-experimental) with two groups (experimental and control) as pre-test and post-test that was performed on 55 stroke survivors in Mahabad city. Samples were selected by convenience Sampling method and randomly assigned into control (28) and experimental (27) groups. Data collection tools included patients' demographic information form and Moriski's medication compliance scale. The intervention included implementing education program by the EASE method for 12 days at the patients' homes and face-to-face in the presence of the patient's caregiver. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22 statistical software and descriptive and inferential statistics. The statistical significance level was considered as less than 0.05.

This study showed no statistically significant difference in medication adherence in patients of the control and experimental group before intervention (p>0.05); however, a statistically significant difference was observed after the intervention (p<0.05).

Based on the findings of the present study, it was found that training by the EASE program is effective in these patients. Therefore, the authorities of the health and treatment system should adopt appropriate solutions for the EASE program of these patients and the training of their families and their active participation in the field of caring for these patients in order to improve the quality of life of these patients and avoid their re-hospitalizations and deaths as much as possible.