Effectiveness of a Self-Care Program for Stroke Patients in The Service area of Sisaket Hospital

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-care program for stroke patients in the service area of Sisaket Hospital. The study utilized a Two-Group pretest-posttest design. A total of 82 participants were recruited, divided into an experimental group (41 patients from Sisaket Hospital's service area) and a control group (41 patients from Khukhan Hospital's service area). The experimental group received the developed self-care program for approximately two months. Data collection occurred twice: before and after the intervention, from April 1, 2025, to May 30, 2025.

          Data analysis involved comparing mean score differences within the experimental and control groups using Paired t-tests, and between groups using Independent t-tests, with a statistical significance level set at 0.05. Post-intervention results revealed that the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant increase in mean scores for knowledge of stroke, perceived risk of stroke, perceived severity of stroke, perceived benefits of stroke prevention, perceived barriers to stroke prevention, social support, and stroke prevention behaviors. These scores were significantly higher than their pre-intervention scores and also significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.001).

          The findings indicate that the developed self-care program is effective in enhancing knowledge, health belief model constructs, social support, and preventive behaviors among stroke patients. These are crucial factors in reducing the incidence of recurrent stroke and associated complications. Therefore, this program fully achieved its research objectives.