Bandura's Self-Efficacy Theory: A Guide for Cardiac Rehabilitation Nursing Practice

To help patients achieve the greatest benefit from cardiac rehabilitation programs, nurses must assist them to modify unhealthy behaviors. Many cardiac rehabilitation programs, however, lack a theoretical foundation; therefore, interventions are usually executed without accounting for the complexities of human behavior, and little consideration is given to the difficulties encountered in altering unhealthy behavior patterns. Bandura's self-efficacy theory is considered a suitable model for cardiac rehabilitation because it provides a systematic direction which allows one to interpret, modify, and predict patients' behaviors. This article describes the development of and conceptual framework for Bandura's theory, how it provides a basis for measurement of self-efficacy, and how it may be applied to the study of cardiac rehabilitation. Finally, some research issues, which are related to applications of self-efficacy theory in cardiac rehabilitation are discussed.