EFFECT OF EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM WITH THE TELEPHONE FOLLOW-UP (TELE-NURSING) ON SELF - EFFICACY IN SELF-CARE BEHAVIORS IN HYPERTENSIVE OLDER ADULTS

Hypertension, with high prevalence in the elderly, is one of the most important
and the most common chronic disease that require the self-care behaviors in patients. The purpose of
this study was to determine the impact of the empowerment program based on the Telephone Followup (Tele-nurses) on Self Care Self efficacy in elderly patients with hypertension.
Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 88 elderly patients with hypertension were
admitted to the outpatient clinic of the Sayyad Shirazi Hospital in Gorgan. The subjects was selected by
sequential sampling method, and they were divided to the experimental (n=44) and control (n=44)
groups. Data were collected through a questionnaire. All the subjects in the experimental and control
groups were participated in the self-care workshops. However, the experimental group received
telephone counseling and follow-up intervention for 12 weeks. Data was analyzed using SPSS-16
Software, and descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: The study findings showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups
in terms of demographic and disease-related variables. The means and standard deviations on the scores
of Self - Efficacy in self-care behaviors, pre–post intervention, were [3.5 (SD=0.4) & 4.1(SD=0.3)] in
the experimental, and [3.4 (SD=0.3) & 3.6 (SD=0.3)] in control groups, respectively. There was no
significant difference between the groups regarding the mean scores of Self - Efficacy in self-care
behaviors on before intervention (P=0.44). Whereas, at post-intervention, the elderly patients with
hypertension participating in the empowerment program (workshop and telephone follow up) showed
statistically significant increases in self-efficacy (p≤ 0.05) compared with the control group.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that empowerment program based on tele-nursing
care was effective in promoting the Self - Efficacy in self-care behaviors of elderly patients with
hypertension. Thus, the important role of tele-nursing in promoting Self - Efficacy in self-care behaviors
in this group of the elderly was emphasized and confirmed