Development and Evaluation of a Cardio-Cerebrovascular Disease Prevention Education Program for Middle-Aged Women in the Community Using Self-Determination Theory: An Intervention Study

Abstract

Background This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CVD) prevention program using the self-determination theory model of health behavior changes in middle-aged women in the community. Methods The effectiveness of the program was tested using a non-equivalent, control group, pre-post design. We recruited 59 middle-aged women who visited two community healthcare centers in City B, South Korea. The experimental group (n = 26) received a CVD prevention program, while the control group (n = 33) received only CVD prevention education materials and one general phone consultation. The program’s strategy was to meet basic psychological needs. The 10 educational sessions included eight face-to-face and two online education sessions, and there were four telephone counseling sessions. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0, independent t-test, and Mann-Whitney’s U test. Results Findings showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in autonomy (p < .001), competence (p < .001), relatedness (p = .004), awareness of myocardial infarction warning symptoms (p = .001), awareness of stroke warning symptoms (p < .001), health behavior practice (p < .001), loneliness and social isolation (p < .001), aging anxiety (p = .001), and resilient coping (p < .001). Conclusions The implementation of a CVD prevention educational intervention based on the self-determination theory model of health behavior changes significantly increased the physical and mental health and basic psychological need fulfilment scores of middle-aged women living in the community.