Psychoeducational intervention proposal to promote salutogenic lifestyles in patients convalescent from myocardial infarction

Abstract

Introduction:Lifestyle is the dynamic process that implies the subject's behavior in his social context. It has an active character, is regulated by the personality, and marks the variety of healthy and insane behaviors determining the individual’s health level

Objective: To identify the psychoeducational needs of patients convalescent from myocardial infarction and design an intervention in this field to promote saluto-genic lifestyles that favor compensation from their cardiovascular health status.

Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional observational study with an intervention strategy design. The sample consisted of 54 patients who attended the Cardiology consultation at Celestino Hernández Robau Hospital in Santa Clara, Cuba. Main psychoeducational needs were identified through psychological instruments appli-cation, and it was designed an intervention proposal that was evaluated by ex-perts: 11 cardiology specialists.

Results: Patients who were adequately aware of decompensation symptoms (81.5%) and information source (88.9%), but had inadequate knowledge of their risk factors (70.4%), their treatment (74.1%) and the consequences of their disease (70.4%) predominated; in addition, 44.5% reported having poor physical condi-tions, inadequate dietary habits (37.1%), toxic habits (29.6%) and poor emotional status (29.6%). The majority (59.3%) considered their lifestyle as unhealthy and only 18.5% were compensated from their cardiovascular disease.

Conclusions: After the psychoeducational needs diagnosis, the intervention pro-posal was prepared and was satisfactorily evaluated by experts.