The effects of a patient education program on the level of self concept of post myocardial infarction patients

Abstract

A Phase II, post discharge patient education program was developed to evaluate the effects of patient education on self concept levels of post myocardial infarction (PMI) patients, 20 Ss were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group (N 10) participated in the educational program which consisted of three follow-up teaching sessions at two, four, and eight weeks following hospital discharge. The remaining 10 Ss comprized the control group, and did not participate in the teaching sessions. Self concept levels were measured by the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) which was administered a t step six of the exercise therapy program used at La Crosse Lutheran Hospital and again at eight weeks following hospital discharge. Analysis of covariance (ANCOV) of the Total P Scores from the TSCS, indicating overall Leva1 of self concept, indicated a significant difference (p < .025) between the mean self concept scores of the two groups. Further ANCOV of the data indicated that of the five sub-categories that make-up the Total P Scores, there were significant differences between the two groups in the areas of physical self (p < .05), personal self (p < .025), and social self (p < .025) opinion levels. In each case, higher scores for each of the sub-categories and Total P Scores were noted in the experimental group. The statistical findings of this study documented the effectiveness of the Phase II, post discharge patient education program in increasing levels of self concept of the PMI patient.