Background: This study aimed to assess the impact of telephone counseling on quality of life in patients with coronary artery bypass graft. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 71 discharged patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery at Ekbatan Edcuational hospital in Hamadan, Iran, in 2014. The patients were randomly allocated into intervention (n = 36) and control group (n = 35). The intervention group received education and counseling about therapeutic plan via telephone after discharge. Patients in the control group received only routines. All patients completed the quality of life questionnaire before and after the intervention period of five weeks. Results: There was no significant difference between intervention and control group about quality of life before intervention (p = 0.696). However, there was significant and positive deference between the two groups in favor of the telephone counseling after the intervention (P = 0.01) and control group (P = 0.04). Quality of life in the intervention group was significantly better compared to control group (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Telephone counseling could be a cost-effective patient counseling plan for therapeutic adherence after coronary artery bypass surgery in order to improve the patients' quality of life. Practice implications: Telephone counseling is feasible to implement and well accepted for patient counseling for many diseases. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: To summarise published HIV-specific research on readiness theories, factors influencing readiness, instruments to measure readiness and interventions to increase readiness for treatment.
METHODS: Medline and PsychInfo were searched until August 2004.
RESULTS: Two HIV-specific readiness theories were identified. Fear of side effects, emotions emerging from the diagnosis and lack of trust in the physician were some barriers to overcome in order to reach readiness. Of the three measurement instruments found, the index of readiness showed the most promise. Multi-step intervention programs to increase readiness for HIV treatment had been investigated.
CONCLUSION: Readiness instruments may be useful tools in clinical practice but the predictive validity of the instruments needs to be further established in the HIV-infected population.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Readiness instruments and practice placebo trials may serve as complements to routine care, since health care providers currently have no better than chance probability in identifying those patients who are ready to adhere.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a new factorial structure of the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale 9-item version (EHFScBS-9), and to test its reliability, floor and ceiling effect, and precision. To propose a new 0-100 score with a higher score meaning better self-care.
METHODS: A sample of 1192 Heart Failure (HF) patients (mean age 72 years, 58% male) was enrolled. Psychometric properties of the EHFScBS-9 were tested with confirmative factor analysis, factor score determinacy, determining the floor and ceiling effect, and evaluating the precision with the standard error of measurement (SEM) and the smallest real difference (SRD).
RESULTS: We identified three well-fitting factors: consulting behaviour, autonomy-based adherence, and provider-based adherence (comparative fit index=0.96). Reliability ranged from 0.77 to 0.95. The EHFScBS-9 showed no floor and ceiling effect except for the provider-based adherence which had an expected ceiling effect. The SEM and the SRD indicated good precision of the EHFScBS-9.
CONCLUSION: The new factorial structure of the EHFScBS-9 showed supportive psychometric properties.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The EHFScBS-9 can be used to compute a total and specific scores for each identified factor. This may allow more detailed assessment and tailored interventions to improve self-care. The new score makes interpretation of the EHFScBS-9 easier.