Investigating the level of self-care and supportiveeducative needs of patients with myocardial infarction, based on Orem’s model

Myocardial infarction is the most common cause that threatens one’s life by causing disability and limitation. According to Orem’s theory, people such as a person suffering from myocardial infarction have some degrees of self-care which are shown in their behavior through using knowledge, motivation and skill. The present study aiming to determine the level of self-care, educative and supportive needs and its relevant factors was carried out based on Orem’s model on such people. In this crosssectional analytical study, 100 patients suffering from myocardial infarction in Khorasan Razavi Province, having at least one time history of hospitalization, were selected by simple random sampling method. Data were collected by using a questionnaire based on Orem’s model in various domains such as knowledge, motivation and skill and analyzed in SPSS software version 16. Based on the results, the subjects were 27 to 97 years old, 74% were male, and 72% have experienced heart attack for the first time. The level of self-care was 58% in knowledge domain, was 42% in motivation domain, and was 44% in skill domain. There was a significant relationship between sugar and blood lipid level with self-care in skill dimension and knowledge, but no significant relationship was observed between other variables and self-care level. Finally, it is concluded that the level of selfcare among patients suffering from myocardial infarction is far from the favorable level, thus more self-care training and support based on the scientific method (Orem’s model) is proposed to increase their self-care ability.