Evaluating the Effectiveness of Integrated Intervention Program in Improving on Quality of Life and Personality Type in Heart Disease Patients

Abstract

Background: Non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of death worldwide. Besides, major risk factors such as age, gender, race, and modifiable or psychological risk factors have a significant role in the incidence of CVDs. This study established an integrated intervention program based on psychological risk factors for Iranian cardiovascular patients, and tried to validate its effectiveness in improving quality of life and personality type. Objectives: Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of integrated intervention program in type D personality and quality of life among the cardiovascular patients. Methods: In an experimental randomized controlled trial, a total of 60 patients (29 - 42 years old, 67% males and 33% females, and all married) were assigned randomly either to the experimental (30 patients) or the control group (30 patients). The patients in the experimental group participated in the intervention program for one month. The content of the integrated intervention program included understanding the role of psychological factors on cardiovascular diseases, understanding personality types, understanding hardiness and resiliency, healthy heart lifestyle, thoughts and behavior, understanding coping styles and emotion regulation, understanding spirituality and personal growth, understanding social support, and learning relaxation techniques. Quality of life and personality type in two groups were measured through WHOQOL and type D personality questionnaire before and after the intervention. All analyses were conducted using SPSS version 20. Results: The patients in the experimental group had significantly more quality of life (P < 0.001) and less type D personality traits (P < 0.001), which support the effectiveness of the cardiac integrated intervention program. Conclusions: The results from meta-analyses indicated the role of psychological risk factors in the development of CVDs. The findings of the current study suggested that cardiac integrated intervention program increases the quality of life and reduces the type D personality traits in cardiovascular patients. Furthermore, it is recommended that cardiac care professionals use this effective treatment to improve the recovery of cardiac patients.