Effectiveness of a Bioenergy Economy-Based Psycho-education Package on Improvement of Vegetative Function, Forgiveness, and Quality of Life of Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Many treatments make the life of coronary heart patients longer, but they require more psychosocial and spiritual support for a meaningful life. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of a bioenergy economy (BBE)-based psycho-education package on improvement of vegetative function, forgiveness, and quality of life (QOL) of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: In this clinical trial, using convenient sampling, 40 patients were selected from among patients referring to Bohlool Hospital in Gonabad, Iran, and were randomly assigned to the 2 case and control groups. First, the vegetative function checklist, Forgiveness Likelihood Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF questionnaire were completed for all the participants. Then, the case group received 8 sessions of group training for 180 minutes. After the training and the 1-month follow-up, both groups completed the questionnaires again. Finally, all data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS software. Results: The results showed a significant difference in heart rate, forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions between the case group and control group after training (P < 0.05). The post hoc test showed that heart rate decreased significantly in the posttest compared to the pretest and forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions increased significantly (P < 0.05). However, heart rate increased significantly in the follow-up compared to the posttest and forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that group education based on BEE as a complementary care system was effective on heart rate, forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions.