Effect of the self-management education program on the quality of life in people with chronic heart failure: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) is a syndrome that negatively affects a person’s Quality of Life (QOL). The efficient self-management education program increases the individual’s abilities and skills for following and participating in a long-term healthcare plan. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the self-management education program on QOL in people with CHF. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial study was conducted on 60 people with CHF and without sensory-cognitive problem from April-August 2015. They were selected using the convenience sampling method, and were randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups. The control group received the routine education presented to participants at discharge. However, besides the routine education, the intervention group received the self-management education program consisting of three sessions followed for a 3-month period. The Iranian heart failure QOL questionnaire was used for data collection before and after the intervention. The independent-samples and paired-samples t-tests, Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used for data analysis via the SPSS v.16 software. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were reported between the groups in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics, indicating that they were homogeneous. A statistically significant difference was reported between the two groups after the intervention in terms of the mean changes of total QOL (p<0.001) and its dimensions, including symptoms (p=0.002), social interference (p=0.01), psychological condition (p=0.013), and self-efficacy and knowledge (p<0.001). In addition, an improvement was observed in the total QOL in the intervention group after the education (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, the self-management education program can be considered an appropriate strategy for improving the QOL in people suffering from CHF by health care providers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.irct.ir) with the IRCT ID: IRCT2015032021521N1. FUNDING: The authors received financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article from Iran University of Medical Sciences (No: 107/105/94/D, date April 11, 2015).