HEALTHY LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS AND ILLNESS PERCEPTION OF PATIENTS WITH MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION THE FIRST THREE MONTHS

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the healthy lifestyle behaviors and illness perception of patients within the first three months after suffering from a myocardial infarction. Method: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 112 patients who had myocardial infarction and underwent coronary angiography between November 2016 and August 2018. The data of the study were obtained by using “Patient Information Form”, “Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II”, and “Illness Perception Questionnaire”. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, one-way analysis of variance and the analysis of variance for repeated measures were used in SPSS 16 program in order to analyze the data. Results: It was observed that total and subscale mean scores of the patients for the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II increased over time, and the patients developed healthy behaviors (p<0.01). When it came to the attributions consenting the disease, the highest mean score was observed in the personal control subscale; whereas, the lowest mean score was observed from the timeline (cyclical) subscale (p<0.01). In terms of causes of disease, the highest mean score was obtained from the risk factors subscale; whereas, the lowest mean score was obtained from accident and bad luck subscale (p<0.01). The mean score of the patients for the illness identity subscale in three evaluations increased over time. Likewise, the patients were found to strongly believe that the number of symptoms associated with the disease was high (p<0.05). Conclusion: The healthy lifestyle behaviors of the patients were found to be more positive in receiving regular follow-up. Moreover, it appeared that they were able to better understand the symptoms of their disease over time. They positively believed in being able to manage their disease and treatments.