The Impact of a Psychoeducational Intervention on Illness Perceptions and Self-Care Behaviors in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF), a frequently occurring heart rhythm disorder, is linked to a higher likelihood of mortality, heart failure, and stroke. Patients with AF often have poor illness perceptions and suboptimal self-care behaviors, leading to adverse health outcomes. This research has aimed to evaluate the impact of a psychoeducational intervention on illness perceptions and self-care behaviors in patients with AF.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted between March 2023 and March 2024 at three tertiary care hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling from March 2023 to June 2023. The 6-week psychoeducational intervention was delivered from July 2023 to August 2023. Illness perceptions were assessed employing the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ; Broadbent et al., 2006), and self-care behaviors were measured using the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) Self-Care Questionnaire (Hendriks et al., 2014). SPSS software (version 26.0) was employed to analyze the data, using mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

Results: The mixed-design ANOVA revealed a significant interaction effect between time and group for illness perceptions (F(3, 456) = 29.7, P < 0.001, partial η² = 0.163) and self-care behaviors (F(3, 456) = 41.2, P < 0.001, partial η² = 0.213). The intervention group showed a 31.1% improvement in illness perception scores and a 40.5% improvement in self-care behavior scores from baseline to post-intervention (P < 0.001). These improvements were sustained at the 3- and 6-month follow-ups (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The psychoeducational intervention significantly improved illness perceptions and self-care behaviors among patients with AF in Iraq. These improvements were sustained at the 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Healthcare providers should consider incorporating psychoeducational interventions into standard AF management to promote better patient outcomes. Policymakers should support the implementation of similar interventions to reduce the burden of this chronic condition.