The effect of Self-Management Training on Self-Efficacy of Cirrhotic Patients Referring to Transplantation Center of Nemazee Hospital: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: Cirrhosis is a chronic and progressive disease that causes various complications for patients due to disturbance of the liver’s usual function. Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in one’s ability to perform the necessary behaviors to achieve one’s goals. Self-management is also an important criterion for long-term change in behavior. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of self-management training on self-efficacy of patients suffering from liver cirrhosis. METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 74 patients with liver cirrhosis randomly assigned to an intervention (receiving self-management training) and a control group (routine care) from 2012 to 2013. The data were collected in the transplantation center affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Self-management training was performed in six 90-minute sessions twice a week. Besides, the intervention group was followed up for a month via telephone. Levo self-efficacy questionnaire was filled out by the patients before, immediately after, and one month after the intervention. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v. 16) and analyzed using independent t-test, Chi-square test, and repeated measures ANOVA. RESULT: At the beginning of the study, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups regarding self-efficacy (P=0.18). However, the total score of the questionnaire and those of all its dimensions significantly improved in the intervention group immediately and one month after training self-management skills (P<0.001). The mean score of self-efficacy was 102.24±7.79 and 76.78±9.49 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was observed in the control group’s self-efficacy immediately and one month after the intervention (P=0.6). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the self-management program resulted in improvement of self-efficacy in the patients with liver cirrhosis. Therefore, this supportive strategy could be useful in patients with chronic illnesses for improvement of care and prevention of complications.