Relationship between perception of illness and general self-efficacy in coronary ‎artery disease patients

Introduction: Coronary artery disease is one of the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases. &lrm;Promotion of general self-efficacy after a cardiovascular event is the outcome that plays a &lrm;pivotal role in increasing rehabilitation skills to modify healthy behaviors. Having desirable &lrm;illness perception may have promoted this capability.&lrm; &nbsp;Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between perception of illness and &lrm;general self-efficacy in coronary artery disease patients. &lrm; Methods: In a cross-sectional study, &lrm;&rlm;195&rlm;&lrm; patients with coronary artery disease, chosen by &lrm;simple sampling method, were asked to complete questionnaires of perception of illness and &lrm;general self efficacy. Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between dependent &lrm;and independent variables and associated factors in coronary artery disease patients&rsquo; &lrm;general self-efficacy.&lrm; &nbsp;Results&rlm;:&rlm;&lrm; Findings of this study revealed that &lrm;&rlm;74.9%&rlm;&lrm; of samples had desirable general self-&lrm;efficacy. In most cases (&lrm;&rlm;73.8%&rlm;&lrm;) the level of perception of illness was satisfactory. Survey of &lrm;variables indicated a significant relationship between perception of illness and age, level of &lrm;education, occupation status, and previous training regarding self-care. General self-efficacy &lrm;was significantly related to age, gender, marital status, education level , diagnosis of cardiac &lrm;disease, living conditions, occupation status, previous training regarding self-care (p<&lrm;&rlm;0.05&rlm;&lrm;). In &lrm;addition chi-square test indicated that there was a significant correlation between perception of &lrm;illness and general self-efficacy in coronary artery disease patients. &lrm; &nbsp;Conclusion: Designing clinical educational programs and nursing interventions is effective in &lrm;improving illness perception and also promotion of patients&rsquo; general self-efficacy for better &lrm;self-care.&lrm;