Comparison of the Short-term Efficacy of Two Training Methods (Face to Face vs. Group Training) on Pulse Rate Taking in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases, a Randomized Trial.

Pulse rate self-examination can provide a fairly good assessment of the patient's condition and helps the physician with drug dosage adjustment in patients with cardiac problems.

This study will be conducted in the Cardiology wards of Modarres and Loghman hospitals in Tehran. These are two educational general referral hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences covering northern and southern part of Tehran, the capital of Iran respectively.

After obtaining a written consent the patients will randomly assign into two groups using random number table. One group will receive a 20-minute face-to-face training session by a nurse on how to calculate the pulse rate in a minute and detect irregularities in the pulse rhythm whereas a 10-minute tutorial film with the same content will be shown to the other group.

Three practical test sessions are arranged for each patient, before the training session, right after the training session and at least 48 hours after the training session. The tests contain two parts and evaluate the patients' ability in calculating the exact pulse rate in a minute and detecting irregularities in the pulse rhythm.

A special data-collecting questionnaire is designed for this study. This questionnaire contains background information such as sex, age, and literacy level as well as the practical test results. Data gathering process will be performed by nurses in these hospitals. Nurses, who participate in this study, will attend in briefing sessions on how to fill the data-collecting questionnaires.