Enhancing self-care in post-MI patients: a family-supported educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior

• Published in: BMC cardiovascular disorders Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 511 - 10
• Main Authors: Arman, Ali, Attar, Armin, Izadpanah, Peyman, Bahja, Hasan, Jeihooni, Ali Khani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 16.07.2025; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Aged; Behavior; Cardiac patients; Cardiology; Care and treatment; Chronic disease management; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Data collection; Disease; Domestic relations; Exercise; Female; Health aspects; Health Behavior; Health care; Health education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Healthy Lifestyle; Heart attack; Heart attacks; Hospitals; Humans; Intervention; Iran; Lifestyles; Likert scale; Male; Marital status; Medical records; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Middle Aged; Mortality; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis; Myocardial Infarction - physiopathology; Myocardial Infarction - psychology; Myocardial Infarction - therapy; Patient compliance; Patient education; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Patients; Physical fitness; Prevention; Quasi-experimental methods; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Risk Reduction Behavior; Self Care; Self-care behavior; Self-care, Health; Smoking; Theory of Planned Behavior; Time Factors; Transtheoretical Model; Treatment Outcome; Validity; Iran; Michigan; Myocardial infarction; Chronic disease management; Health education; Self-care behavior; Theory of planned behavior
• ISSN: 1471-2261; 1471-2261
• DOI: 10.1186/s12872-025-04960-w

Myocardial Infarction (MI) ranks among the major causes of death and disability globally. The modifiable risk factors are very important not only for its prevention, but also for its long-term management. Adherence to self-care plays a very important part in improving outcomes following MI. However, after MI, patient adherence declines over time. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is a socio-psychological theory that can be a model to develop focused interventions which will improve self-care practices. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 140 post-MI patients in Fasa City, Iran (2023-2024). They were randomly allocated to the intervention (70) or control (70) group. Participants in the intervention group received a 10-session education program based on the TPB content related to self-care components. The control group only received standard care. Validated scales assessed self-care behavior, TPB constructs (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control), lifestyle modification and behavioral intention at baseline and 4-month follow-up. There was no significant difference between both groups in terms of demographic and baseline variables and TPB domains (p > 0.05). However, at four months following the intervention, the intervention group showed a significant improvement in all evaluated variables compared to the control group (p < 0.001). The TPB-based educational intervention can meaningfully improve the self-care behavior of MI patients. Future work should assess the sustainability over time of these changes, and the feasibility of using digital health technology to support enhanced patient compliance.