The purpose of this study, a randomized clinical trial design, was to test the effects of a self-care promotion program on quality of life and reduction of risk factors for coronary disease patients. The population of the study was patients with coronary heart disease who were followed-up at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from May to December 2002. Thirty-four patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The self-care promotion program was developed by using Orem’s nursing theory and Ornish’s heart disease reversal program as a conceptual framework. The control group received usual care whereas the experimental group received usual care plus the self-care promotion program. Changes in body weight, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and quality of life from baseline and at 4 months follow-up of the control group were compared with the experimental group. Quality of Life Index-Cardiac version IV (Ferrans & Power, 1998) was used for measuring quality of life. Reliability of the instrument tested by use of Cronbach’s coefficients แ was .79. The results revealed that the mean body weight in the experimental group decreased significantly compared with the control group (p<.05). LDL and quality of life remained unchanged (p> .05). These findings suggest that an educational class for knowledge and training in self-care for who are reduction of risk factors as well as continued supportive measures can assist patients who are overweight or obese to reduce their body weight within 4 months.

M.N.S. ADULT NURSING มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล ปี 2546

of, coronary, Patients, Quality, disease, life, PROGRAM, PROMOTION, SELF-CARE, Factors, RISK