Background & Aim: Several studies have shown that the self-care activity of patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator is inadequate. This study was conducted to assess the effect of an educational program based on the Orem’s self-care model in self-care ability of the patients .

  Methods & Materials: This clinical trial was conducted among 66 patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Four educational sessions were held based on the patient's needs and Orem’s self-care model. Data was collected using a self-report questionnaire at baseline and one month after the intervention. Data were analyzed using statistical tests (x², t-test, paired t-test) in the SPSS-18 . 

  Results: There were no significant differences in the self-care awareness, tendency to self-care, self-care skills, and self-care ability between the control and intervention groups. After the intervention, the self-care awareness score remained 22.06 ± 3.26 in the control group and increased (28.69 ± 1.51) in the intervention group (P<0.000). There was also significant difference in the tendency to self-care between the control (25 ± 3.31) and intervention (28.9 ± 1.33) groups (P<0.000). The self-care skills differed significantly between the control (14.9±3.06) and intervention (29.03±1.15) groups after the intervention (P<0.000). After the intervention, the self-care ability was also significantly different among the control (61.96±8.06) and intervention (86.63±2.93) groups (P<0.000) .

  Conclusion: The results of this study showed that implementing educational programs based on the Orem’s self-care model can improve self-care ability in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Applying this method is recommended in nursing interventions to promote health status of the patients .

  Background & Aim: Insertion of chest tubes is a necessary measurement in chest trauma. The trauma patients need specific skills for self-care. This study aimed to determine the effect of using supportive-educative system on self-care skills in trauma patients with chest drainage system .

  Methods & Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 62 trauma patients with chest-tube were selected from three surgery wards of Besat hospital in Hamadan from December 2012 to May 2013. Two wards were randomly allocated into the experiment group (n=31) and one ward was allocated into the control group (n=31). Participants were selected using convenience sampling. The supportive-educative system was designed based on the patients’ needs and was implemented to the experimental group in three consecutive days. The study instruments included self-care needs assessment form and self-care skills checklist. Measurements were completed once the patients were admitted to the wards and three days later by an external observer. Data were analyzed using t-test, Chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests with a 95% confidence level in the SPSS-16 . 

  Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in the study variables at baseline (P>0.05). Although self-care skills in both control (P<0.01) and experiment (P<0.001) groups were improved, using educative-supportive system led to better self-care skills in the intervention group in compare to the control group (P<0.001) .

  Conclusion: In general, self-care skills of patients with chest drainage system could be improved by supportive-educative system. The improvement in the control group can be attributed to self-care trainings conducted routinely by doctors and nurses .