Randomized Controlled Trial of a Peer Based Intervention on Cardiac Self-Efficacy in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A 3-Year Follow-up Results

Background: Self-efficacy is one's belief in ability to succeed in specific situations and considerable factor to maintaining healthy behaviors. It has an important role in person-centred care and significantly improves after effects of heart attacks. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a peer based intervention on cardiac self-efficacy of the patients after bypass surgery. Methods: In this clinical trial study, 60 patients undergoing bypass surgery were chosen and assigned equally into the control and intervention groups. The patients were assigned into two groups by block randomization. While routine education was presented to the patients in the control group, intervention group were taught using the peer education in two sessions. Cardiac self-efficacy of all the selected patients was assessed orderly in 36-month (3 years) follow-up after surgery. Inclusion criteria used to choose the suitable patients were as the following: no record of CABG surgery, understanding and talking Persian language, willingness to participate in the research, age between 40 and 70 years, no dementia, confusion, mental and psychological problems which might hinder their participation. In addition, exclusion criteria in this study were patient’s death, serious physical problems after CABG surgery, emergency and unexpected surgeries, or cancellation the CABG surgery due to patient’s situation. Data was collected using cardiac self-efficacy scaleand analyzed using chi-square, independent t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Results: The patients in both groups were homogenous in terms of demographic data. The mean score of cardiac self-efficacy in the intervention group was significantly different from control group in 3- year follow-up after surgery (P<0.038). Conclusions: Based on this study, accomplishment of peer based intervention can be a beneficial educative-supportive approach in cardiac surgery fields.