Uncorrected Proof Med Surg Nurs J. 2020 November; 9(4):e108800. Published online 2021 May 11. doi: 10.5812/msnj.108800. Research Article Effect of Self-care Training Program on Surgical Incision Wound Healing in Women Undergoing Cesarean Section: A Quasi Mohammad Reza Zarei 1 , Farideh Rostami 2 , Mehri Bozorghnejad 1 , Fatemeh Mohaddes Ardebili 1, * , Leila Mamashli 3 , Sona Eliasi 4 and Alice Khachian 1 1 Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3 Department of Nursing, Gonbad Kavous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran 4 Member of Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Iran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran * Corresponding author: Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Email: s_mohaddes2005@yahoo.com Received 2020 September 01; Accepted 2021 March 15. Abstract Background: Cesarean section is one of the most important and common surgeries, and surgical incision wound disorders are one of the medical problems. Self-care behaviors can be effective in accelerating the wound healing process. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the effect of a self-care training program on surgical incision wound healing in women undergoing cesarean section. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental clinical trial on 72 women undergoing cesarean section in 2017 at one of the med- ical centers of Sarpol-e Zahab. Sampling was continuous, and subjects were randomly assigned to control or intervention groups based on inclusion criteria. The mothers of the experimental group were given a surgical wound care booklet, and the contents were taught by the researcher in 45 - 60 minutes one day before cesarean section. The learning rate was measured before and after the intervention at the clinic. Cesarean section wound healing was assessed 24 hours and nine days after cesarean section using REEDA tools in both groups. The collected information was analyzed by statistical indices (standard deviation and mean) and tests (independent t-test, Fisher’s exact test, Wilcoxon and Friedman tests) by using IBM SPSS software version 20. Results: The mean score of cesarean section wound healing 24 hours after surgery was 1.1 ± 39.38 in the intervention group and 1.1 ± 92.60 in the control group that had no significant differences (P < 0.13). However, the mean score of cesarean section wound healing nine days after surgery was 0.0 ± 53.65 in the intervention group and 1.1 ± 43.28 in the control group, which showed a significant difference (P = 0.001). Conclusions: According to the findings, it can be concluded that a self-care training program is effective in accelerating the surgical incision wound healing in women undergoing cesarean section. Thus, we propose to use this self-care training program in pregnant mothers undergoing cesarean section. Keywords: Self-care, Training Program, Wound Healing, Cesarean Section 1. Background Childbirth is one of the most amazing and special ex- periences in a women’s life and a transition to the mater- nal stage (1, 2). In the present era, for different reasons, such as the marriage age rising, the cesarean section has become one of the most common surgeries (2), and it in- credibly is growing all over the world (3). Approximately 1.8 million cesarean sections occur annually worldwide (4). In our city, cesarean sections have been reported as 40% in Fasa in 2011 (5). Due to complications such as hemorrhage, surgical site infection, pulmonary embolism, aspiration, atelectasis, and thrombophlebitis, which are major causes of maternal death, cesarean section is riskier than vaginal delivery (6). Delay in scar healing is of other complications (7). Although sterile tips or preoperative skin preparation and the use of appropriate surgical techniques play roles in reducing site infection, surgical site infection is one of the most common nosocomial infections associated with hematoma, serous, and scar opening, which is also one of the most common causes of post-cesarean deaths (8, 9), leading to mother’s hospitalization and frequent referral to doctors. It also imposes enormous economic and emo- tional burdens on the family and society (10) and causes emotional separation between mother and baby (9)). It has Copyright © 2020, Medical - Surgical Nursing Journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.