The effect of chronic care model on self‑efficacy and health‑related quality of life of patients with ulcerative colitis: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The chronic care model is a well‑known framework aimed at improving the care of chronic diseases including ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aims to investigate the impact of the chronic care model on the self‑efficacy and health‑related quality of life in individuals with UC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2022. Participants were 60 patients with UC who were referred to Poursina Hakim clinic, Isfahan, Iran. They were selected through convenient sampling and assigned to control and intervention groups by randomized block design. In the intervention group, the chronic care model was implemented. The control group had only routine visits with a physician to receive a prescription. The self‑efficacy score and the health‑related quality of life were assessed in both groups before, immediately and 3 months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive (frequency distribution, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (Independent sample t‑test, Multivariate Analysis of Covariance, analysis of variance using repeated measurements, and Chi square) statistics. A significance level was considered at 0.05.

RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 44.98. Intergroup analysis shows that the difference in self‑efficacy scores (95.1 ± 15.40, 93.7 ± 15.78) and health‑related quality of life (48.7 ± 5.23, 47.7 ± 6.45) between the control and intervention groups was not significant, respectively (P > 0.05). According to intragroup analysis, self‑efficacy (114.96 ± 13.04, 116.53 ± 12.92) and quality of life (56.1 ± 3.66, 57.23 ± 3.53) scores in the intervention group increased significantly both immediately and 3 months after the intervention, respectively (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: The findings showed that the use of the chronic care model has a positive effect on the self‑efficacy of UC patients and also improves their health‑related quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that health policymakers and managers of healthcare centers provide the basis for applying this model with an interprofessional team in health centers to provide more effective and quality care to individuals with UC.