Comparison of the effects of peer education and orientation tour on the hemodynamic parameters of patients undergoing coronary angiography

Background: Patients undergoing coronary angiography suffer from anxiety and stress during this procedure, which often leads to changes in hemodynamic parameters. This study aimed to compare the effects of peer education and orientation tour on the hemodynamic parameters of patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on patients undergoing coronary angiography, who referred to a hospital affiliated with AJA University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran during 2014-2015. In total, 177 patients were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups of peer education, orientation tour and control (each group: 59 samples). Participants in the peer education group were trained in the angiography unit by peers, while the samples of the orientation tour were instructed by the researcher. Hemodynamic parameters of patients were measured and recorded two hours after admission and two hours before angiography. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21 using Chi-square, one-way ANOVA and paired t-test.

Results: In this study, a significant reduction was observed in the systolic blood pressure (P=0.01), diastolic blood pressure (P=0.05), respiratory rate (P=0.03) and heart rate (P<0.001) in the samples of peer education group, all of which significantly decreased in the orientation tour group as well (P<0.001). In contrast, all the hemodynamic parameters increased in the control group (P<0.001). After the intervention, a significant difference was found between the intervention and control groups (P<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, peer education and orientation tour could lead to a significant reduction in the hemodynamic parameters of patients undergoing coronary angiography. Therefore, it is recommended that these methods be applied for such patients.