The influence of treatment modality on illness perception and secondary prevention outcomes among patients with acute myocardial infarction

Objectives:This study aims to determine if patients with acute myocardial infarction differ in illness perception and secondary prevention outcomes depending on the treatment they received.Methods:A repeated measures design was used to compare patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving three different treatment modalities:ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention,ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated by thrombolytic therapy,and non ST-elevation myocardial infarction treated by medication.A convenient sampling technique was used to recruit 206 patients with acute myocardial infarction who agreed to participate in the current study.Patients'illness perception,physical activity,and demographical and clinical data were collected during hospital admission and again at 6 months.Results:A total of 186 patients completed the study.Results showed that the primary percutaneous coronary intervention group perceived their illness as acute rather than chronic(P=0.034)and has lower personal control(P=0.032),higher treatment control(P=0.025),and higher perception of illness coherence(P=0.022)compared with patients receiving thrombolytic therapy and treated after non-ST segment infarction.Moreover,they report low control of their blood pressure(P=0.013)and less physical activity(P=0.001).Conclusion:The results of this study revealed that patients'treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention had negative illness perception and limited behavioral changes 6 months after hospitalization in comparison with other treatment modalities such as percutaneous coronary intervention and thrombolytic treatment.Further research is recommended to confirm this association with longer follow-up study and among different cultures.

Psychometric properties and characteristics of the Diabetes Self Management Scale

Objective:Assessing diabetes self care management is essential for nursing care for diabetes.There is a need to have valid and reliable scales that assess the actual performance of diabetes self management,The purpose of this study was to revise and conduct psychometric testing and analysis of the Diabetes Self Management Scale(DSMS).Methods:A cross-sectional methodological design was used.A convenience sample was used and 78 adults with diabetes and taking insulin from five sites in the Midwest area of the U.S participated in the study.Reliability analysis was done using Ferketich techniques to make decisions about whether any given item should be retained or deleted.Results:A descriptive analysis for the 60 items of the scale was conducted;several items had low variability compared to the other items on the scale.The correlation matrices showed that a total of 20 items had poor item characteristics.These 20 items were deleted resulting in developing 40-item version of the scale.The 40-item scale had high level of internal consistency(Cronbach'sα=0.947).The validity testing of the 40-item scale was guided by the Research Model for Diabetes Self Care Management;results were congruent with the model and showed strong correlation with self efficacy,moderate correlation with self care agency,and weak correlation with diabetes knowledge.Conclusion:The items and the scale(DSMS)have undergone careful psychometric testing.The 40-item DSMS is a reliable and valid instrument to measure diabetes self care management among people with diabetes.