The impact of a hospital-based educational program based on the health belief model on self-care behaviors of heart failure patients

Abstract EN

Background: The empowerment of heart failure (HF) patients to improve self-care behaviors through appropriate training programs is necessary.

Evidence has indicated a lack of theory-based trials in hospitals and healthcare centers, both of which represent important health promotion settings.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of a hospital-based educational program based on the constructs of the health belief model (HBM) on self-care behaviors of patients with HF.

Methods: This controlled quasi-experimental study consisted of 84 patients with HF (42 patients in an intervention group and 42 in a control group) who were admitted to two large, specialized, referral hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran from April to August 2015.

The patients were selected using purposive sampling.

Data on self-care according to the constructs of the HBM were collected using a European HF self-care behavior questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire.

Results: Before the intervention, the mean score for self-care behaviors was 30.695.13 in the intervention group and 31.235.48 in the control group.

In the first and second post-tests of the intervention group, the mean scores for self-care behaviors were 39.47 3.40 and 40.092.91, respectively (P < 0.001).

There was a significant increase in the determinants of self-care behaviors based on the HBM after the intervention.

The results also pointed to a significant difference in the constructs of the HBM (knowledge, perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action and self-efficacy) in the intervention group during different stages of measurement.

Conclusions: This study showed that implementation of the HBM-based educational intervention positively influenced the selfcare behaviors of patients with HF.

Thus, implementing long-term educational interventions, including continuous follow-ups, in inpatient treatment centers may result in improved and sustained self-care behaviors.

We strongly suggest that novel trials of educational interventions that use other health behavior theories and training strategies are needed to expand training knowledge in hospitals.