Effectiveness of family empowerment program on level of adherence to treatment regimens in stroke patients; a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Different physical and mental complications in patients with stroke, and the chronic nature of the disease, require the presence of their family as the primary source of constant care and support at home. However, for many reasons, such as not receiving adequate support from the medical staff, families face many failures in managing the care programs. <br/>Aim: to investigate the effects of family empowerment program on adherence to treatment regimens in stroke patients. <br/>Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial with post-test-only design conducted in two hospitals of Tehran university of medical sciences in 1391-92, on stroke patients and their main care-givers in two groups of experimental (N= 30) and control (N= 30). For the experimental group, family empowerment program including assessment, education, and referral follow-up was carried out, while the control group received the routine care. Data were collected using the researcher-made Adherence to the Treatment Regimen Questionnaire. Data were analized using SPSS version 11.5 and the statistical tests of Fisher's exact test, Chi-square and independent t-tests. <br/>Results: The mean age of patients in the intervention group was 70.6 ± 7.7 years, and in the control group 68.8 ± 1.0 years. The independent t-test showed a significant difference in the scores of adherence to treatment in all three fields between the two groups (p<0.001). <br/>Conclusion: Due to the effectiveness of family empowering program, and by introducing this method to healthcare system, family empowerment can play an important role in the adherence of patients with stroke to treatment regimens.