The Relationship Between Defense Mechanisms and Self-Efficacy in Ischemic Heart Patients at Feiz Hospital of Esfahan in 2017

Introduction: One of the important factors for behavioral changes in chronic patients, especially cardiac patients, is the increased self-efficacy of these patients. The aim of this study was to determine correlation between defenses mechanism and self-efficacy in Ischemic Heart patient’s referred to Feiz hospital of Isfahan in 2017. Methods: This study was a correlational analytical study that consisted of all Ischemic Heart patient’s referred to Feiz hospital of Esfahan in second half of 2017. Based on inclusion criteria and census sampling, 150 patients were included. To collect data we used three questionnaires: demographic, Defense Styles Questionnaire-DSQ and Sullivan’s cardiac self-efficacy questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, independent t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: Based on the results, 53.3% of patients were male, 76% of whom were married and 32% had undergraduate education. Findings showed the rate of defense mechanisms with a mean of 193.07±28.45 and their self-efficacy with a moderate mean. Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between the developed defense mechanisms with self-efficacy of patients (r=0.20, P=0.013).  Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between using defense mechanisms and predicting the self-efficacy of patients with ischemic heart; that means by using grown defense mechanisms, the self-efficacy will upgrade. So training and enhancement of developed mechanisms and reduction of unhealthy mechanisms by nurses is suggested.