The Effect of Orem Self-care Model on Health-related Quality of Life of Patients with Thalassemia Major

Introduction and Objective: Thalassemia and its complications affect the quality of life of these individuals. Therefore, nursing interventions by nurses as essential careers of these patients are necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Orem's self-care model on the quality of life associated with the disease in patients with β-thalassemia major. Methods: This is a semi-experimental interventional study with pre-test and post-test design. This study was performed on 80 patients with β-thalassemia in Dezful-Iran in 2015 and then randomly divided into two groups of 40 subjects. Data collection tool was SF-36 questionnaire. Educational package, self-care based on need assessment and based on Orem selfcare model, was taught to patients in a 60 minute session. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic variables (p>0.005). The results showed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the control and education groups in terms of quality of life were observed (p<0.005). Conclusion: Orem self-care can increase the quality of life of patients with major β-thalassemia. Therefore, this method can be used as a simple and low cost supplementary non-pharmacological treatment in order to increase the quality of life associated with their health.