Objective To investigate the effect of whole-course empowerment health intervention on the psychological resilience and self-care ability of older patients with severe pneumonia.

Methods A total of 210 older patients with severe pneumonia admitted to Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital between January 2020 and December 2023 were enrolled. The patients were sequentially numbered according to the order of admission. Then, they were assigned to a conventional care group (105 cases) and a whole-course empowerment group (105 cases) by a 1∶1 ratio using a random number table. The conventional care group received conventional clinical intervention, while the whole-course empowerment group received the whole-course empowerment health intervention regimen in addition to the intervention administered in the conventional care group. Psychological resilience was assessed with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), self-care ability with Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCA), and quality of life with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). The evaluation results obtained before and after the interventions were compared.

Results After intervention, the scores for all dimensions of CD-RISC in the whole-course empowerment group were higher than those in the conventional care group (t=10.326, P<0.001; t=6.386, P<0.001; t=9.581, P<0.001). The scores for all dimensions of ESCA after intervention were higher in whole-course empowerment group than those in the conventional care group (t=11.599, P<0.001; t=9.072, P<0.001; t=4.353, P<0.001; t=16.646, P<0.001). After intervention, the scores for all dimensions of WHOQOL-BREF in the whole-course empowerment group were higher than those in the conventional care group (t=9.164, P<0.001; t=13.809, P<0.001; t=5.001, P<0.001; t=6.695, P<0.001).

Conclusion Whole-course empowerment health intervention significantly enhances psychological resilience, self-care capacity, and quality of life in older patients with severe pneumonia.