Effects of individualized education program on perceived self-care among pulmonary tuberculosis patients admitted to Chiangkham Hospital, Phayao Province

Abstract

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a contagious disease that is a major public health problem. Continuous and regular self-care during illness indicates successful treatment for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. This quasi-experimental research aimed to examine the effects of individualized education program on the knowledge and perceived self-care among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients attending Tuberculosis (TB) clinic. The purposive sampling was used to recruit sixty people who were newly registered TB patients at the TB clinic of Chiangkham Hospital, Phayao Province, from February 2020
to January 2021. Sample were equally divided into experimental and control groups, of which 30 for each group. The research instrument was a set of questionnaires consisting of demographic data, PTB knowledge, and perceived self-care. Three experts confirmed the content validity of the questionnaires. The questionnaire reliability was tested using Kuder Ricardson-20 (KR-20) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which yielded .72 and .75, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U Test. The results demonstrated that after program completion, the experimental group had both significantly higher mean score of perceived self-scare and PTB knowledge than
the control group (p<.001). Therefore, TB clinic should provide comprehensive individualized education to all new cases of PTB patients for enhancing perceived self-care among PTB patients.