Abstract:
This study was a quasi-experimental research which studied 2 groups under the objectives of studying the results of an empowerment program on the health behaviors of older stroke patients. The sample group comprised 40 older stroke patients who received regular physical therapy at Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Centre screened into specific groups, divided into 20 subjects in the control group and 20 subjects in the experimental group. The experimental group entered an empowerment program according to the stages of Gibsons model for 4 weeks. Tools used in collecting data comprised 1) general information questionnaire, 2) questionnaire of health behaviors of older stroke patients, tested for content validity by 3 honorary experts, with Content Validity Index (CVI) of 0.73 and tested for reliability with Cronbachs alpha coefficient of 0.72. Data analysis was done by comparison of average scores of health behaviors of older stroke patients between before and after entering the empowerment program of the experimental group was conducted using independent t-test and comparison of average scores of health behaviors between the experimental and control groups using dependent t-test. The results showed that: 1) Older stroke patients who entered the empowerment program had higher health behavior scores than prior to entering the program with statistical significance (p < .001). 2) Older stroke patients who entered the empowerment program had higher average scores for health behaviors than the group that did not enter the program with statistical significance (p < .05). Recommendations The empowerment program should be applied to older stroke patients receiving treatment at hospitals, whereby the program should be applied in discharge planning, and even better in the initial treatment at the hospital.