The Effects of Smart Program for Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (SP-PCI) on Disease-Related Knowledge, Health Behavior, and Quality of Life: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial

PURPOSE: To identify the effects of a smart program for the patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (SP-PCI) on coronary disease-related knowledge, health behaviors, and quality of life. METHODS: A nonequivalent control group with a non-synchronized design was utilized and 48 participants (experimental=22, control=26) were recruited from a university hospital in Gyeongsang area from May to December, 2016. The 12-week SP-PCI consisted of self-study of health information using smart phone applications (1/week), walking exercise (>5/week) using smart band, feedback using Kakao talk (2/week), and telephone counseling (1/week). Patients in the control group received usual care from their primary health care providers and a brief health education with basic self-management brochure after the PCI. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 program through descriptive statistics, χ² test, and t-test. RESULTS: After the 12-week SP-PCI, the experimental group showed higher levels of coronary disease-related knowledge (t=2.43, p=.019), heart-related health behaviors (t=5.96, p<.001), regular exercise (Z=-4.47, p<.001), and quality of life-MCS (t=3.04, p=.004) and showed lower levels of stress (Z=-3.53, p<.001) and sodium intake (t=-4.43, p<.001) than those in the control group. There were no significant group differences in medication adherence and food intake in total energy, lipids, and cholesterol. CONCLUSION: The suggested SP-PCI provided easy access and cost-effective intervention for patients after PCI and improved their knowledge of the disease, performance of health behaviors, and quality of life. Further study with a wider population is needed to evaluate the effects of SP-PCI on disease recurrence and quality of life for patients after PCI.