Factors predicting fear of illness progression among patients with acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

The objective of this predictive correlational research was to identify factors predicting fear of illness progression among patients with acute myocardial infarction. A purposive sampling was used to recruit 214 persons diagnosed with AMI from outpatient departments from 2 tertiary hospitals in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Data was collected using 9 questionnaires including: 1) Demographic data form 2) Coronary Artery Disease Education Questionnaire short version 3) Perceived chest pain questionnaire 4) Brief illness perception questionnaire 5) Fear of illness progression questionnaire - Short Form 6) Cardiac Anxiety 7) Uncertainty in illness 8) Social support questionnaire and 9) Self - efficacy questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multiple regression statistics.

The results were as follows: 1) Patients with acute myocardial infarction had a moderate fear of illness progression. (Mean = 36.92, SD = 9.89) 2) significant predictors of fear of illness progression among patients with acute myocardial infarction including illness perception (β = 0.12, p value = 0.013), anxiety (β = 0.37, p value < 0.001), uncertainty in illness (β = 0.28, p value < 0.001) and self-efficacy (β = -0.31, p value < 0.001). They could explain 69.6 of the fear of illness progression among patients with acute myocardial infarction. (Adjusted R² = 0.696, p-value < 0.05).

This study suggests that nurses can assess anxiety and develop a self-efficacy promotion program to reduce fear of illness progression in patients with acute myocardial infarction so that patients can adhere to the treatment plan and can change their behavior to reduce or delay the progression of the disease.