Effect of Self-Management Program on Self-efficacy and Medication Adherence in Patients with Mechanical Heart Valve: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Patients with mechanical heart valve need anticoagulant therapy to prevent thrombotic events. The treatment interacts with some foods and drugs. The aim was to evaluate the effect of self- management program on self-efficacy and medication adherence in patients with mechanical heart valve.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. eighty eligible patients, with the ability to read and speak in Farsi, aged between 15 to 60, were included in the study from the cardiac surgery clinic in Imam Khomeini hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) and randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. The participants had no history of psychiatric disorders, had undergone valve replacement surgery at least one year before the study, and were being treated with Warfarin. The intervention was a combination of 2 one- hour selfmanagement education via small groups with 3 to 5 members, self-management educational booklets, and weekly call follow- ups for 8 weeks about 10- 15 minutes. The control group received no intervention. Self- efficacy was the primary outcome and medication adherence, Prothrombin Time (PT), and International Normalized Ratio (INR) were secondary outcomes. Data were analyzed using SPSS13.

Results: Although the mean of self-efficacy and medication adherence, PT, and INR values were not different between the two groups at baseline, they improved significantly following the program.

Conclusion: Self-management program had a positive effect on self-efficacy and medication adherence of patients with mechanical heart valve.