Effect of Nursing Interventions on Self-management Behaviors of female Geriatric patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis (LC) is a serious, irreversible and silent disease prevalent among geriatric
patients that results in development of complications leads to high morbidity, frequent hospital
admissions and mortality. In this context, the role of nurses in the care of geriatric patients with liver
cirrhosis should focus on improving self-management behaviors which in turn would lead to minimize
the progression of the disease, prevent complications, facilitate their optimal functional ability and
enhance their quality of life. Objective: Determine the effect of nursing interventions on selfmanagement
behaviors of female geriatric patients with liver cirrhosis. Setting: The hepatology ward
of the medical department of Damanhour National Medical Institute, El-Behaira Governorate, Egypt.
Subjects: The study subjects included 50 female geriatric patients with liver cirrhosis divided equally
into two matched groups of 25 each. Tools: Four tools were used for data collection: I)The Mini-
Mental State Examination (MMS), II) Socio-Demographic and Clinical Data of Female Geriatric
Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Structured Interview Schedule, III) Female Geriatric Patients with Liver
Cirrhosis Knowledge Assessment Structured Interview Schedule, and IV) Self-Management Behavior
Scale for Liver Cirrhosis Patients. Results: A highly statistical significant Improvement in overall selfmanagement
behaviors of female geriatric patients with liver cirrhosis was found in the study group
post interventions (p<0.0001) compared to pre interventions. A statistically significant difference was
found between the study and control groups post interventions regarding dietary, medication and
illness monitoring management. As well, significant Improvement was found in the study group
knowledge level regarding liver cirrhosis post interventions. Conclusion: Nursing interventions had
affected positively the level of knowledge and self-management behaviors of female geriatric patients
with liver cirrhosis. Yet, occurrence of complications, readmission to hospital and death rate could
not be affected significantly by nursing interventions in study group. The main factors affected
significantly self-management behaviors of female geriatric patients were age, educational level and
income. Recommendations: Coordination with different health care settings for application of this
program for geriatric patients with compensated LC admitted to out-patient clinics for better results,
prevention of complication, decreased hospitalizations and resource utilization.