THE EFFECT OF SELF-CARE TRAINING ON ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN HEART FAILURE PATIENTS: A SEMI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Cardiovascular diseases are considered one of the most common diseases of today's societies, so that in Iran, over a million adults are suffering from this disease. The irreparable effects of this disease on the functional ability and quality of life of patients have been proven. To manage anxiety and depression caused by the disease, more effective treatments focused on the participation of the patient seem necessary. Since one of the effective ways to reduce the anxiety and depression of these patients is to teach them about the strategies to deal with their disease, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of self-care training on the level of anxiety and depression in heart failure patients.

This semi-experimental study was conducted on heart failure patients at Seyyed al-Shohdai Hospital in Urmia in 1400. The patients who were referred to the cardiac unit and CCU with the diagnosis of heart failure were selected using convenience sampling and were randomly divided into two control and intervention groups. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 software and statistical tests, t-test, chi-square, and analysis of covariance.

The mean anxiety score was different between the control and intervention groups after the intervention, and it was statistically significant (P=0.001). In addition, there was a significant difference in mean depression scores between the control and intervention groups after intervention.

The results showed that the patient's anxiety and depression were improved in the intervention group compared to the control group after the intervention. It seems that self-care education in easy language through educational books and face-to-face teaching methods can help in controlling the psychological consequences of heart failure.