| Summary: | Introduction: Medical advances have improved life expectancy and
survival of patients with thalassemia. However, as getting older, patients with thalassemia
experience different complications which impair their quality of life. The aim of this study
was to examine the effects of a nurse-implemented orientation program on quality of life in
patients with thalassemia. Methods: A convenience sample of 55 patients with thalassemia were
recruited in this quasi-experimental study. Patients were randomly allocated to control or
experimental groups. A demographic questionnaire, Thalassemia quality of life questionnaire,
and 36-item short form health survey were used for data collection before and one month after
the intervention. In the intervention group, 1.5-month orientation program including of the
three steps of inauguration, implementation, and closure was implemented, while the control
group received routine care. The Chi-square, independent t-test and paired-samples t-test were
used for data analysis by using SPSS ver.13 software. Results: The intervention and control
group did not differ significantly from each other regarding demographic characteristics.
Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding the quality
of life scores after the implementation of orientation program. Conclusion: Implementing a
short-term orientation program was not effective in enhancing the quality of life in patients
with thalassemia; hence, developing long-term multimodal strategies may result in better
improvement.
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