Effect of preparation program on maternal anxiety of mothers fertilized through in vitro fertilization

Objective: To determine the effect of preparation to play a maternal role in mothers fertilized through in vitro fertilization on maternal anxiety. Methods: A total of 60 mothers undergoing in vitro fertilization were assigned into intervention group and control group. Pregnancy concerns and stress questionnaires were research tools. Questionnaires were completed in both groups before organizing preparation program. Then, the preparation program was held for four sessions for the mothers in the intervention group, and the subjects in both groups were immediately investigated again after completion of preparation program and one month later. Data analyses about pregnancy stress and concerns of mothers and its dimensions were performed by repeated measure (analysis of variance), Mann-Whitney, Friedman and Wilcoxon tests. Analysis of demographic variables was performed by using independent t-test and Chi-square test in SPSS 21. Results: The score of pregnancy stress and concerns before the intervention was not significantly different between the two groups. There was a significant difference in the intervention group in the score of pregnancy stress and concerns before and after the intervention (P<0.001), before and one month after the intervention (P<0.001), immediately after and one month after the intervention (P<0.001) which was not significant in the control group. Conclusions: Maternal preparation program can be effective in reducing maternal stress and concerns.

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the European heart failure self-care behavior scale

Objective:To investigate the psychometric properties of the self-care behavior scale in heart failure(HF)patients.The development of self-care behaviors is one of the goals of non-pharmacological care management programs.Methods:After translating the European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior scale(EHFScBS),validity was assessed through explanatory factor analysis;additionally,reliability was assessed through Cronbach alpha and test-retest.The samples comprised of 120 HF patients admitted to hospitals in Tehran during 2017-2018.Results:The mean age of the samples was 67.3±14.04 years.Fifty-four patients(45%)were female.All items of the scale had an acceptable factor loading.Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.72.The intra-cluster correlation coefficient(ICC)was 0.69.Conclusions:Nurses and clinicians could benefit from the Persian version of HF self-care scale since it would enable them to rapidly assess patients’self-care behaviors and to evaluate the effectiveness of the HF management.