Effects of a self-care program on quality of life of cirrhotic patients referring to Tehran Hepatitis Center

Abstract

BackgroundChronic liver disease especially liver cirrhosis is one of the medical problems that substantially reduces the quality of life of its victims. Because of the chronic and irreversible nature of the disease, it needs self-care programs to be developed according to client's needs and to maintain their independence and sense of well-being. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a self-care educational program on Quality of Life (QoL) of a sample of Iranian cirrhotic patients.MethodsA quasi-experimental study was conducted on 44 cirrhotic patients in Tehran Hepatitis Center. Longitudinal case registry and random allocation technique were used to divide the sample into experimental (n = 21) and control (n = 23) groups. Chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ) was used for measuring the quality of life. The experimental group was given a questionnaire to assess their educational needs. A self-care educational program was conducted and the patients were followed for 3 months. Then the quality of life of both groups was compared using descriptive and analytical statistics.ResultsThe experimental and control groups were the same concerning the effective factors on the quality of life, such as age, sex, etc (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between QOL mean score of both groups before the intervention, however the QoL significantly improved in the experimental group after the intervention (P= 0.001), while the QoL decreased in control group.ConclusionThe result of the present study confirmed the positive effects of the educational and self care programs on the QoL of cirrhotic patients. Extensive educational and self-care programs along with long-term follow up such as the program conducted in this study are suggested.

Systematic review: unmet supportive care needs in people diagnosed with chronic liver disease

“… 24 26 28–36 Of the five reports using a supportive care needs assessment tool to collect the data ( table 3 ), information needs was a common concern in four studies. 21 26 31 37 38 Only two studies 21 38 reported that patients perceived themselves as having good support with regard to informational needs. Temple-Smith et al 39 report mixed results for men and women, with the former denying need for information while the latter were willing to seek health information to better manage their disease.…”

“… 12 21 23 25 27 31 34 42 Concerns about symptoms, treatment and prognosis, disease transmission (routes of infection, infecting others) were reported by seven studies (here grouped as ‘physical’ domain). 23 37 40 42–44 In seven studies, patients reported fear, anxiety, sadness, feelings of isolation, or reported desire for access to psychological counselling (‘psychological’ domain). 22 23 30 34 37 38 45 …”

“… 23 37 40 42–44 In seven studies, patients reported fear, anxiety, sadness, feelings of isolation, or reported desire for access to psychological counselling (‘psychological’ domain). 22 23 30 34 37 38 45 …”

Frequency of poor quality of life and predictors of health related quality of life in cirrhosis at a tertiary care hospital Pakistan

“…We also used CLDQ score as continuous variable for regression analysis. Categories were made for age, occupation, education, socioeconomic class [9,10]. …”

Effect of Self-Care Education on Social Adaptability in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

“…Then, using simple randomization (the drawing method), patients were assigned to one of 2 groups, intervention or control. The sample size was calculated based on the following formula used in a previous study (16). Finally, 25 subjects were assigned to each group.…”