Effect of A Self-Efficacy Enhancing Program on Dietary and Exercise Behaviors in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease After Receiving Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Treatment

Abstract Background: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) need to change health behaviors which may pose risk factors for this condition. However, changing eating habits and adopting regular exercise remain areas of deficiency among this group. This is because these behaviors have been practiced for a long time and have become habitual, making them difficult to change. Most importantly, patients often lack confidence or self-efficacy in their ability to modify these behaviors. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance self-efficacy in this group to support dietary and exercise habit changes. Purpose: This study aimed to compare the dietary and exercise behaviors of CAD who have received PCI intervention treatment and a self-efficacy promotion program, and those who received standard care. Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study using a two-group posttest design. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 56 patients with CAD who had received PCI at Petcharat Cardiac Intensive Care Unit 4C and Petcharat Ward 16B, Faculty of Medicine, Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, between June 2024 and January 2025. Of these, 28 patients were assigned to a control group that received standard care, while the remaining 28 patients in the experimental group received a self-efficacy enhancing program on dietary and exercise behaviors. The research instruments included: 1) the General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale; 2) a self-efficacy enhancing program on dietary and exercise behaviors; 3) a handbook on disease and appropriate health behavior regarding diet and exercise; 4) video media presenting a symbolic model on appropriate eating behavior; 5) video media presenting a symbolic model on appropriate exercise behavior; 6) a questionnaire on dietary behavior specific to cardiovascular disease; and 7) a questionnaire on exercise behavior of patients with acute myocardial infarction after undergoing coronary angioplasty. Analysis of data was conducted using descriptive statistics, and the Mann-Whitney U and independent t-test. Results: The experimental group which received the self-efficacy enhancing program had significantly higher scores for both dietary and exercise behaviors compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that the program is effective in promoting healthy eating and exercise behaviors in patients with CAD after PCI. Therefore, this program should be integrated into standard care for this patient group.